Forced: Creator of a Falling Star
by Laura Barton
Summary: No matter what she does, her powers only seem to destroy... to kill. And now she's being forced to use those powers again. Serena wants to believe she's good. Wants to save her. Can she? Can anyone? -Star Saga:Season 02-
1. Prologue

Author Note: _Forced: Creator of a Falling Star_ is actually a sequal to the fanfiction I wrote, _Bands: Darkness Within the Light_. If you'd like, you could go back and start there, but it's not necessary. This prologue will pretty much sum up what happened in the first one, and there will be points in the story that will tell what happened, too.

Feel free to drop a review (I try to reply back all the time; though if you're not signed in I can't). I'm always happy to hear what people think. Without further ado, I present you with _Forced: Creator of a Falling Star_!

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**Forced  
**_Chapter 00 – Prologue_

My name's Essa. Yes, that's my real name and no, I didn't change my name. I know it's not remotely Japanese, even though I'm a Japanese girl. That's the name my parents gave me when I was born. Why? How should I know? I can't exactly ask them… Well, I guess I could go up to their graves and demand an answer, but I wouldn't get one, now would I?

Yeah, my parents are dead. So is my brother. So that leaves me pretty much alone. Well, except for my uncle, aunt and cousins.

When I was twelve, I ran away from home and went on the missing children's list. My parents were still alive then, so it wasn't like I ran away because I didn't want to live with my aunt and uncle. I didn't even know about them yet. Seriously, they came as a complete surprise to me.

Anyway, as I was saying, I ran away from home. Why? Have you ever heard of the Sailor Senshi? Well, that's why. One of my two best friends found something amazing, something she just had to show us and that something made us into Senshi. And not good Senshi either. We became a trio of Dark Senshi.

Sailor Universe, Sailor Space and Sailor Star. I was Sailor Star. Universe, the one who found the power in the first place, was the leader of our little group and the one who had control over both Space and me. You heard me right, she controlled us. Had I known that the power was evil, I never would have become a Senshi. Never.

But once I was in the mess, I couldn't get out of it. Not for a long while, anyway.

Universe had this great plan for us. Why she had this plan, I can't tell you, but she did. The plan was to stop Crystal Tokyo, but we weren't about to rocket into the future to do that. No, we would deal with it here and now. We would kill the princess and the rest of them before they had a chance to make Crystal Tokyo come into existence.

I was about fourteen I think by the time we made our first contact with Princess Serenity, well, Serena as she's more commonly known, and the rest of her friends. The battles began and I damn near killed her once or twice. I didn't want to, but under Universe's control I had little choice. It was only thanks to Darien – yeah, I think it was Darien – that that control was broken. And it was then thanks to Queen Serenity (the spirit of Princess Serenity's mother) that I got a 'good form'. I became a 'good' Senshi, and fought alongside Sailor Moon and crew to defeat the rest of the Dark Senshi and bring them to good.

Well, that was the way it was supposed to go. When I found out about my parents' and brother's deaths – because both Space and Universe knew how and when they died – I was furious and mortified. While I'm sure Serenity would have just healed the two Dark Senshi with her crystal or something to that effect, I took care of them myself. I…

Because of something unrelated to this whole Dark Senshi mess, the police found me again. With my parents dead, my options were either that they find me some relatives or find me a foster home. I don't know which would have been worse, considering both families would be strangers to me. In the end, I ended up with my uncle.

My uncle is my late mother's brother, also Japanese. His wife is a Russian woman. Did I mention that these relatives were in Russia? Haha, yeah. My uncle went to school in Russia – or something like that, anyway – and that's where he and his wife met. After falling in love, they got married, yada, yada, yada. They gave life to my three cousins, all younger than me.

So, off to Russia I went. Now, I knew no Russian whatsoever. Not even simple things like 'hello', 'yes' or 'please'. Nope, I had to learn it all from scratch. Even two years later, I still get things wrong. Languages aren't my strong point. I mean, come on, when I had to learn English back in Japan I was struggling. But I'm learning. I have to, or else be one of the few who only speaks Japanese. That wouldn't get me far, now would it?

Speaking of learning, I had two years of school to catch up on. I guess it goes without saying that that's how I spent my first summer there. School everyday, even weekends, for hours and hours on end. But there was no way my uncle and aunt were letting me just stay out of school. No way in hell. Either I was learning it all, or I wasn't living under their roof.

Don't get me wrong, my uncle and aunt are nice people. Education is just really important to them. You should have seen their faces when they were told how much school I'd missed and how long I'd been gone. They didn't even know about me before the authorities told them, so they couldn't have known when I ran away. My mother and uncle had lost contact with each other when they moved.

On top of all this, I have also been forced into seeing a shrink – err, a psychiatrist, I guess is the proper term. Since I ran away from home, they wanted to find out why (of course I couldn't tell them!) and they also thought I would need some help coping with the loss of my parents and brother. Let's just say that the shrink isn't making a whole lot of progress, but there are some things that I've been able to tell to her that makes her feel she's making progress. See, one reason I ran away was because I was suddenly a Senshi and under someone else's control. But the main reason I let Universe transform me into a Senshi, besides that I didn't know we'd be evil, was because my parents fought a lot. So, I just tell my psychiatrist about the mental strain I was under because of my parents' fighting. I'm not lying, I'm just not telling the entire truth.

Oh, and I haven't mentioned Spike yet, have I? He's my cat, since what's a Senshi without their guardian cat, right? He doesn't have any special marking on him like Luna or Artemis, though. He just looks like a normal black and white cat. Unless he started talking, you would never know the difference. My aunt, uncle and cousins certainly don't.

Yeah, Spike's been by my side this entire time. I don't know why, considering all I've done, but he's there. Supporting me. Being my best friend. Helping me deal with what I've done. He really wants us to get our lives back in order and back to normal. He's convinced we're well on our way, but there are times when I just don't know.

Are you wondering if I fight the evil bad guys over here in Russia with my Senshi powers? The answer to that is a definite no. When I left Japan, I got rid of my Senshi powers. I dropped my pendant into the sea, getting rid of it forever. I couldn't handle going back to being a Senshi. No…

I guess you're wondering what happened to my parents, my brother and the Dark Senshi. They were all murdered. There was never any suspect, never any evidence. They're cold cases, cases that will never be solved. But I know who the murderer is…

I really don't know if I should tell you. You'll probably hate me for it, and with good reason. I would never blame you for hating me. I hate myself. Sometimes I swear that I can still see their blood before my eyes.

There has never been a Senshi that kills… That's right. My mom, my dad, my brother and my two best friends were murdered… By me…

I could easily pass it off as 'oh, I was under the control of others', but in the end, their blood in on my hands. And it won't go away. Even though my life looks like it's heading down a better road, it torments me. I can't tell my shrink or my family! They'd lock me in an asylum, for one. They'd look at me as an abomination. Maybe I am, though…

So instead, I just keep it all locked inside. As long as I never get my power back, I'll be fine. All I'll have to deal with is the guilt and the horror… Hopefully it won't drive me insane.


	2. Chapter 01

**Forced  
**_Chapter 01_

"In Japan?" the white haired girl questioned, her brows furrowing. Instantly she didn't think it was a good idea, no matter _what_ her shrink had to say.

"Yes. I think that your returning to Japan for a couple of months will be good for you. I feel you are ready to cope with whatever happened there now and work through it. It's your summer vacation anyway, so you wouldn't be missing school," the psychiatrist, Elizaveta, informed her with a gentle grin.

Essa shifted in the leather chair uncomfortably. Apprehensiveness coursed through her at the thought of returning to the place that made her life hell. Elizaveta, who'd been her shrink since she'd moved to Russia, thought that this was a simple case of her having run away from home. No one knew that it was so much more than merely that; they couldn't know it was more than that.

"Everything will be taken care of. Expenses, where you'll stay and whatever else will be arranged, so all you have to do is enjoy yourself," she continued as if not noticing or disregarding the teen's discomfort. Of course she'd noticed it, but thought that Essa was just nervous.

'Enjoy myself?' Essa thought almost bitterly. 'I don't remember anything being enjoyable there… though maybe it will be different this time…' She thought for a moment and decided that it would maybe be different since she lacked what had made her miserable.

"What do you think?" Elizaveta continued, watching for an answer now with coloured contact lenses the hue of a brilliant green. Essa had seen her without contacts, and her eyes had been a dull brown.

"All right," Essa agreed with a nod, her grey eyes almost indicating a certain determination.

"Good. I was a bit worried that you wouldn't go. But I think it will be good for you" A grin crept across the expert's face. "I will arrange it all and call you later in the week."

It wasn't long after that Essa found herself sitting on the sidewalk outside her psychiatrist's building. Of course she was still contemplating about going to Japan. She was uneasy with the whole idea, yet she knew she would have to face Tokyo again one day. Just because she thought it would have been later in her life didn't change going back. Besides, it was going to be all expenses paid, right? Why not take advantage of that? How often could you say you get an all expenses paid trip?

Sighing heavily, she knew she'd have to discuss the whole thing with her uncle when he picked her up. For the time being, she leaned back on her hands, listening to the city noises. People walking, riding bicycles, driving cars and even birds caused the sounds around her. No wind passed through the area, more than likely blocked by the buildings surrounding the street.

Her attention turned to the sound of a honking horn and she recognized her uncle's vehicle, a dark green van, right away. She stood, dusted herself off while waiting for him to pull up to the curb before getting into the passenger side. As she buckled her seatbelt, she felt the van jerk forward as it began to pull away.

"Everything going well?" her uncle asked her; he spoke in Japanese since he knew it was easier on her.

She'd been speaking with her psychiatrist in Russian, but whenever she was with her uncle he made an effort to speak to her in Japanese. He said that she should practice Russian more, since she lived there now, but her complaint was that she had to do that with everyone else. Eventually he'd caved, seeing her point.

It was one of the burdens she'd had to bear for what she'd done in the past, she supposed. Learning another language didn't seem so bad either, as people kept telling her if she learned several languages she would get into a good college or university and have a good job. Neither of those really interested her at the time, however she thought that maybe one day they would. Eh, couldn't hurt.

"I guess. Elizaveta wants me to take a trip back to Japan," Essa replied.

"Why's that?" her uncle asked. His expression held concern, but his niece couldn't see it since she was looking out the window.

"She feels that I'm ready to 'deal' with it now," she said blandly.

"That's quite an expensive trip…" her uncle began, however Essa immediately told him that she'd been told it was all expenses paid. "Well, I guess we should trust her judgment," he sighed in defeat, his eyes not leaving the road, especially now that they got into heavier traffic.

Essa had been half hoping that her uncle would not let her go back to Japan, but she knew that he would follow what her shrink said. Though he was a kind man, and only looking out for his niece, she sometimes felt he trusted too fully in her shrink's judgment. She shouldn't have expected otherwise, considering it was her uncle who'd chosen Elizaveta Gorbachova in the first place. With the help of his wife, of course.

In the beginning, Essa had told them that she didn't need to see a psychiatrist; that she was perfectly fine. But over time, her uncle and aunt saw traits in her that they thought needed attention.

She had several flaws, and she was well aware of that. Several times in her life she'd tried to close herself off from the rest of the world, hoping that it would all go away This had happened for quite a bit when she'd first arrived in Russia, much to the disappointment of her aunt and uncle. They'd hoped that she'd be spunky and energetic like their children were, however their niece seemed to only want to shut them out.

Her cousins were Aleksei, Inna, and Liliya. Inna was the oldest of all three of them, being closest to Essa's age, was fifteen. Aleksei was second in line for age as he was thirteen years old and then there was Liliya who was nine.

The three were much like regular siblings as they often fought over ridiculous things and said they completely despised each other, however the truth was that they did indeed care for each other. They pretty much treated Essa in the same manner as well, though they weren't so caring for her because she was merely their cousin. That and she would push them away.

The two continued on home in silence, the only sound between them being the sounds of the van, the sounds of the other vehicles and the sound of the music coming from the radio. It wasn't until they actually arrived at the house that conversation began again between anybody, and that conversation was in Russian. 

"We're home!" Essa's uncle called after opening the door.

She heard two of her three cousins call back in reply. It seemed they were upstairs in their rooms and she remembered that Aleksei had gone out with his friends to the mall or something. Whatever, it didn't matter much. She thought all his friends were obnoxious and immature anyway.

"Welcome back!" her aunt said when her husband entered into the living room. The woman had been watching some movie or another. She'd said she was only going to sit down for a second to watch it, but BAM, an hour had suddenly gone by.

Essa poked her head in the room and gave a little wave and a grin before heading up to her room. She trekked up the carpeted stairs and wordlessly walked by her cousin's room. Inna and Liliya were surprisingly playing a game together. Surprisingly because Inna was usually out with her friends, like Aleksei was.

"Hey, come play this game with us, Essa," Liliya invited as her cousin walked by.

Essa stopped and looked over at the game briefly, but couldn't tell what it was. "What'cha playing?"

"Some old game that mom dug out when she was cleaning. The name's really faded on the box, so I don't know what it's called. It's fun though." Inna showed her the box's lid and there appeared to be no name on it at all.

"I'll pass," Essa said with a wave and continued to her room.

When she got to her room, she shut the door for one simple reason. While it was normal for her to talk to a cat, she imagined her family would have a fit if they heard her. Also to prevent them from hearing her, she turned on the stereo; not too loudly, but loud enough.

Her ebony and white pelted feline lay comfortably on the bed. His golden eyes, which had a hint of green, watched Essa as she went into the private bathroom she had. He assumed she was going to change. When she emerged, he observed that she had on more comfortable clothing. She now wore a baggy tank top, baggy pants and her feet were bare where they'd been socked before.

"We're going back to Japan," Essa said as she sat down beside Spike, knowing that he wouldn't ask her what had gone on at the psychiatrist's office. He never did nor did he have to because she'd always share with him. Mostly because he was the only one who would understand.

"We're what?" He blinked, floored by the sudden statement. 'When was this decided?'

"You heard me. Going back to Japan. Trust me, it wasn't my idea," she replied, leaning against the wall now, looking out the window that was right by it.

"Evidently, but I say this is a bad idea," Spike didn't move, but continued to watch her, his feline eyes narrowing a bit as he pondered.

"I have little choice in the matter. Anyway, I might as well face Japan again someday, right?" Who was she trying to convince here? She knew it was herself.

"I suppose… but what if something happens? What if the Senshi-"

"If there's an enemy there, they're on their own. I can't transform anymore, so it doesn't matter," Essa interrupted her feline, speaking rather quickly. "Even if I could, I wouldn't."

"I just have a bad feeling," Spike admitted, walking over to the window now before jumping up on the sill and looking at her.

"So do I."

xxxxxxx

"So, what's this I hear about you going on a trip to Japan, Essa?" her aunt asked her over the dinner table.

"What? Essa gets to go on a trip?" Inna asked jealously, having never been out of her home town, being Moscow, before. And she was the 'I want to travel around the world' type, too. Of course she was jealous.

"From what I hear," her mother nodded, looking for confirmation from her niece. When noticed that it was merely a nod that followed, she continued. "I know it's probably scary to go back there, but you'll be all right. You're a tough girl."

A slight grin crossed Essa's face before she proceeded to shove more of the vegetables from her plate into her mouth. She tried to act normally, but in reality she was starting to become on edge with the idea. Sure, she'd felt that something was wrong before, but ever since Spike indicated that he had a bad feeling, her own had increased. Were they both paranoid, or were they walking into a deathtrap?

"Wish I could go on a trip somewhere," Inna persisted, hoping that maybe her parents would say she could accompany Essa.

"We can't afford that kind of a trip," the fifteen-year-old's farther spoke now, watching his daughter's face fall to a look of disappointment. "The only reason Essa gets to go is because it's all expenses paid by her psychiatrist, or the company."

"Humph, I should get a shrink then," Inna joked, crossing her arms.

"You need one, sis'. You're pretty cracked," Aleksei told her, shrugging off her glare with an innocent look.

"How long will you be gone for?" Essa's aunt continued.

"I don't know. Elizaveta said she'd call when the arrangements were made," Essa shrugged, taking a drink of her water now. The busier her mouth was, the less talking would be required.

"I see. Well, I hope it's not for too long."

Essa continued to eat her meal in silence while the rest of her 'family' spoke about things that she didn't think concerned her. She sat, eyeing them every once in a while incase they decided to address her specifically, but they didn't seem to be doing so at all. Though she didn't feel very close to or involved with these people, she'd always known that she was lucky to have them.

She'd always known that she was lucky to have people who would take care of her even though they hadn't met previously. Indeed, she doubted that they would continue to take care of her if they found out that she was a murderous Sailor Senshi. But for the time being she was having an easier life than she'd had before. It was evident to her that she could have been living on the streets or that she could have ended up in some foster home or orphanage, yet instead she had family.

"Tomorrow we'll be going to the shopping center," her aunt spoke again, drawing Essa's attention back in as she was speaking to everyone. "You don't all have to come, but you are welcomed to."

Cheers came from her children, however her niece just nodded noncommittally. Essa wasn't exactly set on going anywhere the next day, nor the day after that. In fact, she didn't want to leave the house until she had to leave for the airport to get her plane to her home town.

Essa could only assume that her cousins were excited to go for the reason of shopping. She'd even go as far as to say they were borderline shop-a-holics. Essa had never been the shopping type, even hating clothes shopping though she enjoyed getting new clothes. It was just one of the many differences between her and them.

"Essa, you should come with us," Liliya told her, having a feeling that her cousin wouldn't want to accompany them. But maybe if she told her that she should go then she would.

"Maybe I will," Essa said with a little smile, knowing that that would content her young cousin. She didn't have any intention of going though.

xxxxxxx

"You sure you don't want to come with us?" Essa's aunt asked her as the six of them stood around the front door.

"Yah, I'm sure," Essa nodded, a slight grin on her face and she wasn't about to give them an explanation as to why either.

"You're going to miss all the fun!" Alexsei told her, as if they were going to an amusement park rather than the mall.

"I think you'll have enough fun for the both of us, kid." She regarded him oddly and watched as he shrugged and charged out the door.

"All right," her aunt nodded finally and gave her a hug goodbye before heading outside.

"Protect the house for us," her uncle joked.

"No problem." She nodded again, waving now as they closed the door. When the door was closed, she walked over to it and clicked the lock, ensuring that no one would be able to get in.

"Finally, they're gone," Spike commented, stretching at the top of the stairs as he looked at her locking the door.

"They're not that irritating are they?" Essa grinned slyly.

"You're not a cat," he sniffed, a look of disgust on his face. All too many times he'd been the victim of Liliya's 'sick and twisted game of dress-up', as he called it.

"Lucky me, then, huh?" she laughed, starting to climb back up the stairs to head to her room.

"I'm getting some chow," Spike told her, passing her on the way down the stairs, heading towards the kitchen to get to his food dish.

"Enjoy yourself."

Leaving the door to her bedroom open for once, and not turning on that just loud enough music, she sat down and pulled out the laptop she'd received as a gift not long ago. Her aunt and uncle had decided that she should have a computer of her own and opted for getting her a laptop so that she could take it wherever she needed. It had proved to be quite handy several times already when school was in, but now that she had school break, she was mostly using it to play games.

She pulled up the screen, turning it on and waiting for it to completely load before heading online. The website that she went on quite frequently was not only a chat line, but also a role playing website. She wasn't sure if she was quite into the role playing yet, but it passed the time. Other than that, she'd just chat with people.

Even one time she'd encountered a conversation about the Sailor Senshi, or that had been what she'd thought it was. In actuality, it was just a bunch of people discussing the video games that had been created. Though she'd exited the conversation quickly, she couldn't help but chuckle since those people were more than likely unaware that Sailor Senshi were real people. 

Scrolling down the page, she looked for a potentially interesting conversation. That was when something caught her eye, and made her eyes widen as well. The link, also happening to be the title of the conversation read 'Trouble in Tokyo'. Her blood ran cold.

She hoped that it was just nothing; something to get the attention of others to advertise something. Maybe it was a video game or some story that someone was writing. Yes, that seemed logical and a sigh escaped her when she clicked the link. Her speculations had been right.

'Trouble in Tokyo' was apparently some video game that was created to rival the Sailor V games and the rest of the Sailor Senshi related games. The heroes in this video game were of both genders, bearing super powers that would destroy these monsters without any difficulty at all, well, that depending on the level of the monster. The person who created the conversation wanted to discuss several cheats with people, hoping to get passed some level that was troubling them.

Essa was startled when she heard the front door click open, immediately assuming that her aunt had forgotten her purse again. Yet she heard no call that would normally tell her this, causing suspicion in the white-haired teen. She shrugged it off at first, but when she heard the sound of Spike hissing, that was something else.

She got up off of her bed, intending to go downstairs to see what the hell was going on and how someone could have gotten into the locked house. Spike was suddenly right at her feet and she stopped to crouch down and hear what he had to report.

"There's a stranger in the house. I don't know how they got in," Spike told her in a whisper.

"Well that's just peachy," Essa grumbled irritably. "I didn't think I'd actually have to protect the house…"

"Seems that you will."

Her feet went slowly down the stairs with apprehension, perhaps because she didn't know whether this person would be armed or not. The image of the man she'd faced years before while she was working at the café came to her mind. She recalled the feeling of being at gunpoint, yet at that time she'd felt braver than she did at present. Maybe it was because she was protecting her friends, maybe it was something else.

She listened intently, hearing over the sounds of her own breathing and footfalls to the sound of the person moving about downstairs. To her, it didn't sound like they were rummaging through things to steal, just moving around the house to find something in particular. She could hear that they were walking about casually, as if they owned or lived in the house themselves, however she knew otherwise, unless Spike was just being mean.

'No, he wouldn't joke about this,' she thought.

The person returned to the entranceway, looking up the stairs now to investigate. Both the stranger and Essa stopped dead upon sight of one another, Essa readying herself for attack and the stranger seemingly pleased. She couldn't understand why, but the person had a look of relief on their face, as if she was the one who was supposed to be armed with a weapon. Maybe they had expected that she'd be, and she then wondered why she hadn't grabbed something to clobber them with.

"How the hell did you get in here?" Essa asked in her native tongue without realizing and before even finding out who the person was.

"I opened the door," the stranger, a male probably only a few years her senior, responded also in Japanese.

"You opened a locked door?" Essa was shocked. 'A lock-pick, maybe?'

"Quite obviously," the boy replied, nodding his head and giving her a look as if she were a bit slow minded.

"Just how did you manage that?" she continued.

Spike stood by her legs now, watching the boy closely. He obviously wasn't Russian and Spike felt that he knew something they didn't. But what?

"That's not important. I'm here to give you this," the boy reached into the pocket of the jacket he was wearing, pulling the 'this' out.

"Get that the hell away from me," she ordered, a glower appearing on her face now as she saw the silver chain with the silver star charm within the palm of his hand.

"But it-" he began, only to be cut off by Essa.

"I don't know where you got that from, but you take it back!" she snapped, not wanting to even touch her transformation pendant again. It didn't even occur to her to ask how he got it or how he knew it was hers.

"You'll need it though!" the boy protested. Irritation flooded his expression. He'd come all this way just for the girl to start yelling at him? He'd at least expected a little politeness to be issued.

"Let me guess, Tokyo is under attack by some new evil, right? I need to help them fight it?" Essa sneered, even hearing Spike give a cat-like growl by her side.

"There could very well be," the boy nodded.

"Then you go fight them!" Essa ordered, watching the shock appear on his face now. "I want no part of their battles."

"You must. You have no choice but to-" he tried to convince her.

"I refuse," Essa glared, clenching her fists at her side in her anger and frustration. In truth, she was also very horrified, but she would not let this stranger know that. Perhaps he was working for this supposed new enemy. Too bad she was already showing so much weakness.

"I advise that you leave," Spike ordered with another growl. He noted that the strange male didn't seem at all surprised by his ability to speak the human language.

"Your Senshi must take this," he spoke now to the guardian feline, hoping that he would understand reason.

"Just because you say she does? No. It wasn't lost, it was thrown away. Meaning we don't want any part of those situations anymore!" Spike hissed, his expression dark and even threatening though he was just a cat. A slightly larger (though not around) cat, but a cat nonetheless.

"Fine." The male teen glared. "Have it your way then." He turned briskly on his heal, leaving the house and slamming the door behind him.

Spike watched as the door locked again, indicating to him that the stranger bore some sort of powers. There was no way that a regular human could do something like that so quickly, doubting that even the most skilled of lock-picks could accomplish that.

His attention was drawn to Essa though as she slunk down to sit on the stairs, her face in her hands before she put them on the back of her neck. Spike rubbed against her legs intending to comfort her and calm her down, but he didn't know if that could be accomplished. Especially when he heard the word that left her mouth.

"Bastard."


	3. Chapter 02

**Forced  
**_Chapter 2_

In its full form, the moon shone over the earth, as if monitoring the people as they slept. The wind whispered through the trees, stirring the leaves and the branches to make subtle noises that weren't heard except by those who were awake. It was questionable as to why anyone would be awake at that time of night, considering it was so late, but there were some.

One of those who were awake was a teenage boy, moving in and out of the shadows to reach his destination. Every time he stepped into the moonlight, the silver pendant around his neck shone brightly, twinkling as if it was a star in the vast sky. This pendant did not belong to him, but he was taking it to the one it did belong to. One who refused to take it when he'd offered it.

With practiced ease, the male leapt up onto the small sill of the bedroom window once he'd reached the house. The window, though it had been shut and locked only moments before was now wide open and permitting him entrance into the building. Though said building was dark, he continued on by stepping into the room and being sure to be absolutely silent. He knew that if he were to wake up the one who was sleeping in that room there'd be hell to pay on his part.

His light coloured eyes searched around the room, seemingly having perfect vision within the darkness. These same eyes halted on the form of the feline guardian who was asleep at the base of the bed of the one he protected. The feline seemed not to have heard anything, his form continuing to rise and fall as he breathed in his sleep. The black and white cat seemed perfectly content.

As did the girl asleep in the bed. From what the male judged, she was resting well considering her face held an eased expression. This expression was much different from the fearful one he'd seen on her face before when he'd entered into the house. He understood that it was the pendant that had caused that alarm within her, but he could hardly understand why. He wasn't aware of the darkness that it had brought upon her all those years before.

Currently though, he walked silently over to the bed, his shoes not making a noise on the carpeted floor. When he'd stopped, he was standing at the side of the bed and staring down at the form of the white-haired girl as she slept. There was a nagging feeling within him as he stared down at her, as he knew that in giving her, her pendant she would be malcontented. As much as he didn't want to cause that kind of emotion to stir within her, he also felt that he had no choice but to equip her with the only weapon that would be able to save her against a supernatural evil that most people couldn't fathom. He knew that it was the only thing that could protect her and help her to help the other Senshi against this new enemy that he'd yet to see.

He crouched down now and reached behind his neck to unclasp the chain. Taking it into one hand, with his other hand he carefully picked up the hand that was outside the safety of the blanket that covered her. With each movement he made, his eyes flashed back and forth between the guardian and the Senshi to ensure that neither of them stirred as he placed the silver necklace in her hand. Neither of them did, which gave him a sense of relief.

He closed her fingers around the chain so she wouldn't drop the necklace so easily. The only way she'd be able to drop it would be if she opened her hand, which he hoped that she wouldn't do. Before replacing her hand on the bed where it had been, he gently raised her hand and lightly kissed her knuckles.

He rose to his full height from the crouching position he'd been in, making his way back over to the window. As he stood before the window, he softly whispered, "I'm sorry," and then disappeared back into the darkness from which he'd emerged.

The window to Essa's bedroom closed silently, the lock barely making a sound as it clicked back into place. It appeared as if nothing had happened at all.

* * *

She hadn't even opened her eyes yet and already Essa knew that something wasn't right. As she shifted her hand around, she tried to tell herself that she was still asleep and that nothing was in her hand. Yet, as she opened her grey eyes and unclasped her hand, she still saw it all the same. Closing her eyes and reopening them didn't make it go away either, at which point she sat upright in her bed quickly. 

Her hair tossed about, curtaining her vision to the point where she had to push it out of her eyes. She noted that Spike was stirring at the end of her bed now, going into a cat-like stretch that he did nearly every morning. Her eyes weren't on her feline though, and she ignored him when he said his good mornings.

"Essa?" he questioned cautiously after seeing the look on her face and the focus on the palm of her hand.

Without further hesitation, Spike quickly walked across the covers and climbed into the teenager's lap. With resting his paws on her arm, he propped himself up in a way so that he could see what was in her hand and holding her attention. When he saw the silver chain and star pendant, his eyes widened as well, his look almost matching that of hers.

"Where did this come from?" he demanded, though he figured that she probably wouldn't know.

The only response she could muster was to shake her head back and forth viciously, her whole form actually shaking by that point in the shock and fear that ran through her. Her thoughts were scrambled, but she could still hear each and every one of them clearly. Each and every one of them screamed out that she should get rid of it. She wanted to oblige, too, but there was yet another thought that was instructing her to hold onto the necklace and she knew that thought. She didn't like that thought.

"We must get rid of it," Spike spoke in a hoarse whisper, his eyes going to Essa now.

"Essa! Time to get up! You've got to get ready to go!" the recognizable voice of her uncle speaking in Japanese instructed.

Her head snapped in the direction of the door and then to the clock. In her shock, she'd completely forgotten that she needed to get up early so she could prepare to leave. Several days before, the arrangements and been made for when she'd leave for Japan. Incidentally, she would be leaving in a couple of hours. Now more than ever, she didn't want to return to that place.

Barely realizing what she was doing, she grabbed the ends of the necklace, clasping it around her neck so that it hung outside of her night shirt. Having it around her neck again felt strange, but due to sudden amounts of stress, it went fairly unnoticed.

She swung her feet over the side of the bed, getting up and heading for her bathroom to prepare to leave. This movement caused Spike to fall to the ground, though since he was a cat no harm was done as he landed on his feet. He did look rather baffled though, not understand what she was doing. It seemed to him that she wanted to keep it now, but he knew otherwise.

"What are you going to do with it?" Spike asked quietly, not wanting to alarm anyone that might be outside of Essa's bedroom door. He followed her and sat right outside of the bathroom door, listening as she turned the water on for the shower.

"I'm going to track that bastard down and give it back to him," she snarled, though her anger wasn't directed at her feline companion.

"Who knows where that guy could be! Wouldn't it be easier to just dispose of it?" Spike asked, not really understanding the logic in her thinking.

"Something tells me that we're going to encounter him again," Essa said over the sound of the running water.

Spike sat in silence, contemplating this seriously. Presently, he couldn't understand what the boy they'd encountered days before had to do with the whole scenario, but it was obviously something important. He had strange powers that the feline had never seen before, and those powers more than likely extended beyond locking and unlocking doors without a key. Somehow the boy had also retrieved the pendant, which had been at the bottom of the ocean, so there was obviously some other unnatural power within him that enabled him to do that.

He couldn't help but feel anxiety though, knowing all too well that the boy would not simply take the necklace back. After all, he'd gone to the trouble of actually placing it within the grasp of Essa's hand, right? This caused Spike to wonder if he knew something that they didn't know, like if he knew who this supposedly coming enemy was. No matter what the stranger knew though, it trouble Spike, as he felt that Essa being a Senshi would only cause more misery for the both of them.

* * *

Essa pushed through the people at the airport, knowing that if she didn't push, they wouldn't make way for her to go through. Several times she couldn't help but grin though as she heard strained muffles coming from within her carry on bag as Spike was jostled around as it hit people. She'd clearly stated that that was his only choice though, for her uncle and aunt wouldn't let her take him along. Sure, she'd not bothered to ask, but they would ask questions that she wouldn't have been able to answer. 

Her uncle and aunt had said that they'd see her off just before she boarded the plane, however she'd told them that she could go herself. At first, her aunt had disagreed, saying that it would definitely be better if they were to go with her so that she didn't get into any trouble, but after a few minutes Essa was able to convince her otherwise. Instead they were going to make sure that her luggage got on the right plane as she went to board.

After her goodbyes and promises that she'd call or write or somehow keep in touch, she made her way into the mob of people to get to her plane. This, of course wasn't easy, but she knew that she had no other choice by that time. So, she pushed on, forcing people out of her way so that she could get to where she wanted to go.

As she made her way through the people though, something caught her eye. Instantly, she came to a halt, staring in the direction that she could have sworn that she saw that boy. Her eyes narrowed, trying to find him again, but she couldn't seem to locate anyone that even looked remotely like him at that point. She was about to search further, but the sound of a voice over the intercom saying that her plane was now boarding drew her attention and she rushed off in that direction.

"Okay, Spike, this is how it's going to work," she whispered to her carry-on as she now pretended to tie her shoe. "This bag has to go through a scanner, and naturally you can't be seen inside. I'll let you out and without being seen you have to make it to the other side of that," she pointed at the metal detector, which looked more like a doorway.

Spike was watching through the slightly opened zipper of the bag as Essa said this and readied himself for going on with the plan. He listened as she also explained that she'd pick him up on the other side, but it would be a little more difficult. Both were confident that they could do it though, and thus the plan ensued.

The feline leapt out of the bag quickly, so that it was difficult for anyone to really see what he was. Avoiding feet coming down over his form, the feline weaved in and out of the people to attempt to get to the other side of that scanner that Essa had mentioned. His eyes kept flickering back to her though to make sure that he didn't get too far away, and whenever he did start to stray too far, he'd weave his way back to get closer.

After she'd gotten through the metal detector and after her bag had gotten through the scanner, Spike went as quickly as he could over to where his companion was walking towards the doors to board. He noted that she pretended to stumble, conveniently dropping her carry on bag in the process, at which point Spike made his move. As quickly as he could, he rushed over and wormed his way back into the bag to be hidden once again.

Seeing her guardian return to the bag, Essa hoisted the carry-on up over her shoulder again, laughing off any strange looks that she got from people and assuring others that everything was okay. She couldn't help but sigh in relief though as it seemed that no one had noticed a thing. In a sense that was odd as well though, considering airports were usually big on security, but she took the luck without complaint.

The actual ride on the plane was uneventful, despite the odd looks that she got as she insisted on keeping her carry-on in her lap the whole ride. She didn't try to explain, but did assure them that she just had some things in there that she wanted to be able to retrieve without difficulty, at which point she demonstrated by pulling out headphones and a compact disc player. Shrugging, the flight attendants finally let her alone, not finding her to be any sort of threat.

* * *

She now stepped outside of the airport in Tokyo, breathing in the night air that seemed like any other air she'd ever inhaled. Part of her felt content being back at 'home', but there was still part of her that held much anxiety. This was due to the whole business of her having her transformation pendant back, but she tried not to think about it too much. 

A chuckle left Essa's form as she felt Spike wriggle around in her carry-on bag, which she had over her shoulder. Stepping aside and setting her rolling suitcase upright beside her, she opened the carry-on bag, only to see her feline friend immediately poke his head out and gasp for air. It was apparent that he'd been running out by how he gasped, but he instantly ducked back into the bag when he saw a mass of people coming out of the airport.

Essa looked around, taking in all the sights of Tokyo once again. There wasn't too much to see except for many, many vehicles parked in the parking lot and tons and tons of people milling around to try to get wherever they were going. What she wasn't expecting to see was what caught her attention though.

There was a man standing with a sign, a sign that had her name on it and he was moving it about so that people could see what it said incase they were the ones he was looking for. They all merely ignored the man though, at which point Essa grabbed hold of her suitcase again, made sure her bag was comfortably on her shoulder and made her way over to the guy with the sign.

Again, she ended up pushing past people to get to where she was going, but once she was there it was all okay. She bowed and voiced her greeting, responding when the man asked if she was the one who owned the name that was on his sign. He seemed rather thrilled that he'd found her, and escorted her over to a car, telling her all the while that he was delighted to meet her and that he would be taking her to a fine hotel that had been chosen by Elizaveta. Somehow, she hadn't caught how in all his ramblings, the two knew each other, so there was no need to worry.

On the way to the hotel, the buildings and scenery whizzed by and became blurs, not truly allowing her to see what there was to see. It wasn't until she actually got to the hotel and was inside her room that she got a chance to really look around at anything. The first thing she saw though was the hotel itself, which was a grand sight to see.

When she'd gotten up to the hotel room and shut and locked the door, she placed her baggage on the bed within the fair sized room. It was definitely a good room to be in, and after unzipping the bag for her feline friend, she was immediately drawn to the small balcony.

Unlocking it, she pushed open the sliding door to step out onto the balcony and see what there was to see. From the floor she was on, the view was something she felt she could grow used to. Even though there were several buildings in her view, she could still see many different sights that she remembered from her last time being there. She even searched half-heartedly for the little café she'd worked at, wondering if it was nearby, though she didn't think it was. Confirming her thoughts, she couldn't see it.

"Nice place," she heard Spike say as he stood beside her on the balcony.

"Yeah," Essa agreed with a nod. "I just hope the rest of our time here is just as nice."

"I do, too," he too nodded, having a serious look upon his feline face at the same time. "I don't know what that psychiatrist of yours was expecting you to do here, though."

"True. I'd never even thought of that," Essa gave a confused grin. "Maybe she wants me to play tourist."

"Could be…" Spike trailed off, sighing as well. Everything seemed so peaceful to him at that moment, and it gave him a hope that maybe everything would turn out all right for them. He tried to convince himself that he was just being paranoid when he felt the nagging sensation within the back of his mind, but this convincing wasn't easy to do.

Essa knew that getting used to the time difference would be a bit strange at first, considering there was what she considered to be a great gap between the two places time-wise. If she wasn't mistaken, which she knew she could very well have been, there was about a seven hour time difference between where she'd been and where she was. At present, she didn't feel any of this jet-lag that people were always talking about though, so for that she was grateful.

It had been a (+)ten hour flight to actually get there though, which she couldn't quite understand, but let go all the same. She would have thought it to be faster, but it had been ten hours. Back at her uncle's house, she determined that it would be about five o'clock, but since she was now in Tokyo, and they were seven hours ahead, it was midnight.

Though it was midnight, she didn't feel tired all too much. She wanted to go and do something, however she knew that she should probably try to sleep anyway to get used to the time difference. Essa didn't feel like being up at midnight every night without being tired, for she knew then that she would be tired during the day, when she would actually be able to do things. So thus, she prepared to sleep and decided that she would force herself into a slumber if she had to.

By the time she actually got prepared and such for bed, it was nearing one o'clock. It didn't matter all too much though, for the former senshi and her feline guardian went to bed all the same, finding that once they did lie down they fell asleep fairly quickly. This sleep was a light one, but they would find that they'd feel rested somehow the next morning. For the time being though, the sleep continued.

* * *

(+)I apologize if the flight time and even the time difference are incorrect. There were limited websites that I found that could give me that information, so I went with what I found. 


	4. Chapter 03

I have a favour I must ask of anyone reading this, well, potentially a few, but for now, I only need one. Does anyone know what the Russian school year is? Meaning, what month does it start, and what month does it end. I found the Japanese school year, which is indeed helpful to my story, but I was unable to find anything about the Russian school year. So, please, if you know, do share.**

* * *

**

**Forced  
**_Chapter 3_

"Serena! Get up!" the voice of Serena's mother came as she rapped on the door with her knuckles. Of course her daughter was still asleep when she should have been getting ready for school. When was she _not_ asleep when she should have actually been doing things?

The teen with long blonde hair sat up groggily in her bed, stretching and yawning widely as she continued to wake up. While she was thinking it was rude that her mother was awakening her, she glanced at the clock beside her bed all the same. She looked away from it, though did a double take, picking up the object in her hand and holding it close to her face. Her eyes grew wide.

"WAH! I'm going to be late!" she practically threw the time teller on the floor and she flung the blankets off of her form, upsetting her feline guardian, Luna, at the same time.

The cat fell off the other side of the bed as she became wrapped up in the covers that she'd been laying on. She didn't think much of it though, merely finding her way out of the blanket dungeon and stretching. This happened almost everyday so she was quite accustomed to it. Sure, being awoken in such a fashion wasn't the greatest, but it woke her up nonetheless.

She felt the vibrations on the ground as Serena ran around her room, frantically preparing for another day of school. The girl's feet stomped on the floor and seemed to become louder when she stumbled around on one foot as she tried to put her socks on. Luna dodged the girl's pair of pajamas as they flew her way and noted that Serena was now struggling to put on her uniform's shirt. Luna merely sighed and shook her head, following as the girl dashed out of her room.

"Mom! I wish you would wake me up earlier!" Serena grabbed a piece of toast off the table as stuffed it in her mouth, as per usual.

"Serena, I always wake you up earlier. You just go back to sleep," her mother sighed in exasperation, wondering why she wasn't used to this routine by now. Maybe it was because she'd thought that her daughter would have grown up and matured by now. It all just seemed the same though.

"I'm going now!" she shouted after downing a glass of juice, grabbing another piece of toast and running for the door to put on her shoes.

Luna sat beside her, watching as Serena put on her shoes and then as she got up and slammed the front door shut. The cat couldn't help but smile at least a little, knowing that Serena would never change. She stared at the door for a minute longer, swishing her tail back and forth before turning to head back up the stairs. She wasn't sure why'd she'd come down the stairs in the first place, but that didn't matter all too much. Not like she had to go anywhere.

* * *

"I'm going to be so late! The teacher's going to kill me!" Serena whined out loud, causing those she passed as she ran down the street to stare. She paid them no mind though, her only focus being on getting to school on time. Something told her that she wouldn't be getting there on time though.

She slowed as she got closer to the school gate, but she still needed to grind to a halt once she actually reached the opening. After nearly falling to the ground, she regained her running stance and took off for the door of the school, yanking it open with all her strength, as if that would get her to her classroom faster. It really didn't because she slowed when it came to climbing the stairs to get to her classroom. Even skipping two at a time didn't get her there faster, but it got her there all the same… after she almost fell back down them several times…

As she pulled open the sliding door that led to the classroom, huffing all the while, the bell rang around them. Her whole class looked over at her, most staring though some were grinning. They were just as used to this as the others who knew Serena. The teacher didn't look up from the desk or the attendance sheet that was on it.

"Looks like Ms. Tsukino made it just as the bell rang. Should I count her as late?" the teacher asked the rest of the class, looking up at them.

Serena's eyes grew wide, her head instantly turning in their direction as she gave pleading stares. She didn't need a detention! She really didn't! She had important things to do! Like go to the arcade to check out the new game she heard had come out!

Several of the students laughed in response, though others just shook their heads. The teacher looked from them over to Serena's heaving form, chuckling inwardly as she knew that the girl had run all the way there. Her outward expression was still stern though.

"Go sit down, Ms. Tsukino. I won't mark you late," she looked back at the attendance sheet and began marking off the other students in the class.

Sighing in relief, her form relaxed as she made her way over to her desk. She hung her bag on the hooks that were on the side of the desk and slumped into the seat. Her head instantly found its way to the desk and she put her hands behind her head momentarily, but then she sat up again. It was evident to her that if she didn't pay attention in class she would surely get a detention. She'd been let off easy for nearly being late.

"Lucky you, Serena," her red-headed friend, Molly, whispered from the seat beside her. "I could've sworn she would count you late."

"Yeah, lucky me," Serena huffed, obtaining a disgruntled look.

It made her angry that she'd almost been late because she kept promising herself to stop that habit, yet her mother wasn't any help. Why she didn't just set her alarm was beyond the majority of them to understand, but they never really asked about it.

The teacher stood from her desk, beginning to walk over to the board. The chalk found its way into her grasp and she began writing on the board, at which point the students jumped into action to write down whatever she was writing in their notebooks.

* * *

"So what's this new game called, Serena?" Mina asked, tagging along with her equally blonde friend to the arcade after school.

"I'm not sure, but I heard it's really good!" Serena said matter-of-factly, waving her finger around in the air as she did so for some unknown reason.

"Hope you're right, but if it is really good then there're going to be a lot of people there playing it, probably," Mina pointed out, grinning slightly as her friend's face fell. "Don't worry, Serena, we'll get to play eventually."

The two girls walked down the sidewalk towards the arcade, their book bags in tow as they did so. Mina was the only one Serena had been able to convince to go to the arcade with her, but that was all right. Once they'd both played the game and seen how good it was they could probably convince the others to go along too. They were easily influenced that way.

They came to where they had to cross the road to get to the arcade, but a whole slew of cars were driving by so they couldn't cross yet. Serena yelled at them, urging them to move out of her way so she could go play the video game, but that didn't make any of them move faster.

"Everyone's going to get there befo-!" Serena stopped in mid-yell, her fist still held up in the air where she'd been shaking it defiantly. Something caught her eye in the crowd across the street, something that caused her to stop yelling instantly.

"What is it, Serena?" Mina looked across the street, trying to see in Serena's line of vision to what she was staring at.

The girl's eyes were held open with a shocked stare, but were straining to see if what she saw was what she thought she was seeing. She'd caught a glimpse of what she thought was white hair, considerably shorter than she was expecting, but white hair nonetheless. She hadn't seen the face of the person though, yet she still felt anxious all the same. There was an energy emanating off of that person that she recognized, or that she thought she recognized.

"Did you see her?" Serena asked as she began to run across the now clear street.

"See who?" Mina asked, following close behind though she'd been shocked that Serena suddenly took off in that run.

"I could've sworn it was her!" Serena stopped and looked through the people crowded in front of the arcade. The person was gone, but she was sure she'd been there just a moment ago!

"Who!" Mina asked more forcefully, but fell silent at the sudden words around her.

"Did yah see that! That girl just beat that new game they have in there!" someone said, their voice struck with awe.

"No, I just got here! What happened?" another voice asked.

"That new game that just came out, 'Trouble in Tokyo', that girl just beat it!" the first voice spoke frantically.

"What girl?" the second voice asked, looking around at the female populace surrounding the arcade.

"She just left!" the first said, pointing in a certain direction.

"So," Mina said turning back to where Serena had been standing, "who-?" That was all she got out before noticing Serena was no longer in the place she'd just been standing. "Hey!"

Mina looked around, noting that Serena had taken off running in the direction that that person had been pointing. Huffing in annoyance, she chased after the girl, wondering if something serious was going on. Had she seen a monster or something? Perhaps one of their old enemies had returned, judging by the way she was addressing the apparent female that she'd seen. To her, it sounded like Serena recognized the person. She considered calling the others up on her communicator.

* * *

"Maybe you shouldn't have done that?" Spike asked quietly, sitting on Essa's shoulder and meowing on occasion to make people think that was all he was doing.

"Done what now?" Essa glanced at her black and white feline while wondering what exactly he was referring to. "All I did was beat the stupid game."

"You drew a lot of attention to yourself, and it was dangerous to be there at that hour anyway. Serenity could have been and actually was in the vicinity," Spike told her, his eyes narrowing in a pensive and concerned fashion at the same time.

"Pah, Serenity. I'm not worried about her. I could lose her without any trouble at all," Essa scoffed, taking another quite unnecessary turn to do said 'losing' of Serenity.

"Yes, well, Mina is with her, too. She's not as dense as the princess is," Spike assured her, checking back over their shoulders to see if Serenity was gaining on them at all.

"And I'm not that dense either, Spike. I know that and I'm not worried about her either. In fact, the only thing I am worried about is getting rid of _this_," she pointed to her neck as she said the word. Underneath her shirt was the necklace that she could use to transform, or that she used to use anyway. She didn't plan on using it again.

"That concerns me as well, but if you were to encounter the Senshi then they would no doubt attempt to force you back into using that thing," Spike told her sharply.

"She won't find me through one little glance and a video game, Spike, my pal," Essa affirmed, and continued walking ahead.

All she did was play that stupid 'Trouble in Tokyo' game that she'd read about. She hadn't actually expected to see it at all, but apparently it was pretty new around there so people were going wild for it. Personally, she couldn't see how it was supposed to compete with the Sailor V and Sailor Moon games, as it was terribly simple.

The game had consisted of beating monsters within the city and the hero, the character that the people played, was some sort of weirdo in tights and a cape. It vaguely reminded her of Tuxedo Mask, and she'd half wondered if that was who it was supposed to be based off of. Her suspicions turned also to the character being based off of the superheroes of the western world, such as that Super Man character or that strange Bat Guy or whatever his name was. Either way, she shrugged it off, not liking the game at all.

"I don't think she's gaining any distance on us," Spike spoke after a moment of silence as he was looking back again. All he saw was the sidewalk and several other people that he didn't know at all. A few stared at him if they were heading the same direction as Essa while others tried to make cute faces and waved. He resisted giving them dirty looks, resulting in meowing cutely to humour them.

Essa chuckled, "Trying to be a regular cat, Spike?"

"I have to give them some sort of indication that I'm 'normal'," he whispered in turning back to face forward.

"Yeah, well, 'normal' cats don't ride on their owners' shoulders," Essa grinned.

"Want me to walk on a leash?"

"Normal cats don't do that either."

"They can be trained to."

"It's very rare."

"Fine, be that way. I'll just keep meowing my face off," Spike said huffily.

"Wouldn't that be a sight?" Essa was amused by the thought, actually picturing within her mind her feline meowing until his face actually did fall off. Of course this left the gruesome image of a skull sticking out of a body of fur, but she laughed all the same.

"Shut up."

* * *

Serena panted as she chased in the direction that that person at the arcade had pointed. Of course she tried to use her instincts as well, knowing that who she thought she saw could turn down any of the busy streets in Tokyo. She was dead set on finding her though, even though it was forcing her into a long run once again.

It was vaguely evident to her that Mina was chasing after her. She'd expected her friend to have stayed at the arcade, but apparently she wasn't going to do that. Mina was chasing after her, pushing through the people walking down the streets just the same way that Serena was, but Serena thought she'd stopped following at one point. Even still, the girl reappeared and the pursuit continued.

'Am I even heading in the right direction?' Serena questioned herself, offering her apologies as she accidentally knocked someone aside.

She could hear Luna's voice in her head suddenly saying, 'Trust your instincts, Serena.'

'It's all I got,' she assured herself, nodding her head and continuing on.

Everyone came to a stop all of a sudden, though, and Serena nearly ran into someone, Mina nearly running into her as she'd caught up. Everyone stopped and listened as a scream resonated through the air, and as several other screams came after that. With those screams came a sudden wave of people pushing backwards in the crowd, forcing Serena and Mina in the direction they'd just come from, no matter how hard they struggled to go towards the screams.

"Was this who you saw, Serena?" Mina shouted over everyone's panicked voices, also yelling at a few to watch where they were going in the process.

"I hope not," Serena elbowed people out of the way, dragging Mina along with her by the arm.

The two girls shoved through the crowd, even though a few stopped them and told them they had to run. Ignoring those people, they finally made their way to the edge of the crowd, noting that a car was being overturned in the street. Both gasped as they saw that the people were still inside the car, and screaming loudly at that. At present, they couldn't see what was doing it though.

"What's doing that!" Serena shouted, looking around for some source; looking for some evil bad guy to 'moon dust'.

"Let's worry about that later and just transform!" Mina was now the one doing the pulling, leading them between two buildings far enough into the shadows so that they couldn't be seen. "Venus Star Power!" her voice rang out as she took hold of the henshin pen to transform.

"Moon Crystal Power!" Serena followed suit, pulling the broach off of her outfit and holding it above her head as it shone with light and opened to show the crystal.

As they transformed, another car flew down the street in an overturned fashion, scraping against the pavement as its occupants screamed for their lives.

* * *

"Essa," Spike looked to the former Senshi, noting wide eyes upon her face. She'd felt and perhaps even heard the same thing he had.

"Please… no…"


	5. Chapter 04

**Forced  
**_Chapter 04_

As the transformation completed for the two Senshi, they noted that the car they'd seen being turned over was now flying down the street. The metal from the roof of the car screeched down the pavement, causing sparks to fly before the vehicle came to a stop when it slammed into another car, which couldn't move out of the way. The people inside, who'd been screaming quite loudly, suddenly ceased this screaming and this caused the two Sailor Warriors to worry.

"Oh my god!" Sailor Venus shouted, shocked and frightened at the same time. She instantly ran over towards the crashed vehicle, while Sailor Moon looked for this enemy.

Sailor Venus' heals clicked on the pavement as she ran over to the car, pushing through a pair of other people who were making sure the passengers were okay. She crouched down and noted that the people within the car were unconscious and seemingly quite badly injured. Fear for their lives struck through her and she looked up at the people around her.

"Get them out of the car and all of you get to safety!" she ordered and when she saw that they continued to gawk at her, probably because they either recognized her or didn't, she added on, "Now!"

Seeing them spring into action contented her a bit, but not enough. Those people were hurt, bleeding as she'd seen and she guessed it was because of the impact. Whatever this creature was, it was different from the other attackers they'd faced in the past. The other attackers would only put some sort of magic spell over their victims, which allowed the Senshi to heal them afterwards, but this was different. These injuries couldn't be healed by magic, at least not their magic.

"All right, where is this guy?! I want to beat the crap out of him!" Sailor Venus shouted when she returned to Sailor Moon's side. Her fists were clenched and teeth held tightly together. Her fear was soon becoming encased by anger.

"I don't know! I don't see anything, or anyone!" Sailor Moon responded frantically. She was looking around rapidly, her hair swishing around her as her head jerked from side to side to try and find this enemy.

"Well we better see something before anyone else gets hurt! Those people will probably need to go to the hospital!" Venus informed her friend, their gazes connecting. Sailor Moon's held fear and concern, while the anger continued to rise within Venus. "If only Mercury was here, then maybe her scanner would pick up something."

"Let's call them. It'd be better if all of us were here," Sailor Moon looked to Venus, only to see her shake her head back and forth.

"I tried to call them earlier when you took off chasing whoever it was you were chasing. I thought maybe you'd seen an enemy, so I tried calling them, but no dice. The communicator is all screwy. I'm guessing it's because of whoever this enemy is," Venus told her with regret.

"What do we do?! We can't attack it without knowing where it is! Others could get hurt!" Sailor Moon's voice rose into a frantic high pitched sound.

"Calm down! We'll figure something out! We always do!" Venus tried to calm her friend, but she knew it was either nearly or completely pointless. When she was panicking it was hard to get her out of panicking.

Not even a minute after she'd said that, an empty car came flying down the street again. They hadn't seen it being lifted into the air and thrown at them, it was only as they heard it breaking through the air that they noticed it. Both blondes stood in complete shock for a long moment, before there was a scream and a shout.

Sailor Moon was the one who'd screamed, afraid to be squashed by the large, metal contraption flying her way and it was Venus who shouted. At least she was shouting something sensible.

"Venus Love Chain Encircle!" she cried out, the golden chain made of hearts circling up around her before flying off towards the car.

The chain wrapped itself around the car and, with what strength she had, Venus pulled the car away from them, but this only caused it to crash into another parked car on the side of the road. The sound of metal crunching together met their ears as the chain vanished into little, sparkling, dust particles, like it had never existed in the first place.

"Venus! My hero!" Sailor Moon lunged at her friend, trapping her in a hug of thanks.

"No time to celebrate now, Sailor Moon! That was too close for comfort!" Venus shrugged her off quickly, though having no intentions of being cruel to her fellow heroine. Her thoughts were swimming. 'How are we supposed to fight this?'

"Essa, we can't just run away from it!" Spike shouted to his comrade as she made a dash away from the scene.

"Watch me! It's not my problem anymore! It never should have been my problem to begin with!" Essa yelled, shaking her head wildly about as she ran as fast as she could. She felt terrified and there was something telling her that it was more than just being thrown into a Senshi situation that was scaring her.

"You're being selfish! Innocent people could be getting severely hurt!" Spike tried to reason with her, though he could understand why she was running. Regardless, he felt that she needed to stand up and fight now because it was so close. He hated the idea of forcing her back into that madness, but he was also concerned for the well being of others.

"That's what the original five Senshi are for! That's why they have their powers!" the white-haired teen yelled in result.

Her breath was catching in her chest, not just from the running but also because of the fear that was encompassing her. She felt like she was being drawn to the scene of the attack, no matter how far she ran away from it. It was like there was a pair of hands around her chest and pulling her back, causing her breath to hitch.

"Please reconsider! What if they can't defeat it?" the feline asked while clinging to her shoulder as she ran. She didn't even seem to notice that his claws were digging into her flesh while he was doing so. She didn't seem to notice anything… but her fear.

"No," she spoke softly, running all the more. Even still she couldn't escape the feeling of this pull on her, and she also couldn't escape something else.

A muffled voice was screaming out, and she could hear it. She didn't know if it was part of her own mind screaming in fear or not, but she didn't think it was. The voice sounded external, and something told her that it was also what was pulling her back. She didn't want to hear this screaming, she didn't want to feel the pull. She just wanted to run like the scared little child she currently was.

As she turned the corner though she came to an abrupt halt, facing the one who'd started all this mess once again. She came face to face with the boy who'd broken into her house, with the boy who no doubt gave her the pendant back in her sleep, the boy whose appearance she was now committing to memory so she could recognize him no matter what. Black hair, light brown eyes, seemingly normal appearance; not hard things to remember.

"Go back and help them," he said, disregarding the immense amount of fear that was in her eyes. It was worse than when he'd tried to give her the silver, star shaped pendant in the first place, but there was no turning away from it now.

"And what are you going to do if I say no?" she snarled, angry at him, but still feeling the fear.

"You can hear it, can't you? Don't you want it to stop?" the boy asked her, watching as her face and form stiffened to show that she knew what he was talking about.

"Hear what? I don't hear anything," Spike looked from the boy to his companion, wondering what both of them seemed to be able to hear that he couldn't.

"If you help them, it'll go away," the boy ignored the feline, speaking only to Essa and watching her every movement. He had to make sure that she went back; he had to make sure that she returned to her Senshi form.

"I don't trust a word you say," Essa spat, considering this, but he was probably lying. What if he wasn't though? What if she could make this feeling go away with becoming who she once was? No. She wasn't that bothered by it yet that she had to resort to the worst just to make things better.

"Then it continues," the boy said sadly.

xxxxxxx

It was suddenly that a black cloud appeared before the two Sailor Senshi and it was suddenly that it lashed out again. This time, it was a bus stop shelter that came flying their way. It was pried out of the ground and thrown towards the two girls, but they were quick enough to evade it as they jumped out of the way. The glass from the shelter flew up around them, flying in every direction to try and injure them with its shards.

"Is that what were up against? A shadow?" Sailor Venus questioned aloud, standing on top of the bus that both she and Sailor Moon had jumped to.

"I don't know," Sailor Moon shook her head, watching it closely.

They both became witness as the cloud began to solidify, taking on the form of a dragon, which stood at twenty feet tall with a wingspan that wouldn't allow the creature to stretch its wings between the buildings. The sight of this dragon caused the two girls' jaws to drop as it roared and spewed a black fire their way. The fire encircled them before they could jump away, clinging to their forms even as they screamed out in pain from the burning.

"Pink Sugar Heart Attack!"

The dragon's attention was drawn to the voice and watched as the simple attack comprised of many, tiny, pink hearts headed in its direction. With this concentration broken, the fire which surrounded the two other Senshi vanished, leaving them to fall to their knees, smoldering. The dragon's attention wasn't diverted for too long by this feeble attack, but long enough so that the fire ceased.

"How dare you attack two of the protectors of this planet and injure many innocents! I'm Sailor Mini-Moon and in the name of the future moon, I will punish you!" the pink haired, as well as pink clad, Senshi shouted, doing the actions that so resembled Sailor Moon's to go along with this speech.

The dragon roared again, clearly aggravated by the presence of the third Senshi. Though the attack of the little hearts as well as the words did nothing more than irritate it, it still chose to charge at this new one, who had yet to be harmed. It figured that the two it had already burned were out of commission, so why not fry the little pipsqueak, too? Maybe she had other secret powers that could be more dangerous.

"Wah?!" Sailor Mini-Moon shrieked as the dragon began to fly her way. The pink haired child had not been expecting it to actually attack her!

"Mars Celestial Fire Surround!" the fire Senshi shouted, tracing the ring of fire around her in mid-air before it changed to eight smaller circles and then a stream of fire which shot at the dragon.

Before the fire even hit the dragon, it flew up the best it could without its full wingspan and out of the way, looking to note that instead of just three attackers it now had six of them. Sure, two of the girls were still unable to attack back, but there were six Senshi there nonetheless. While it was in no way frightened by them, as it rose into the air, something farther away caught its attention.

"Don't you look away from me you stupid dragon!" Mars shouted vehemently, shaking her fist at it in the air. "Mars-!"

"Hold it, Mars, something's strange…" Jupiter held onto her friend's arm and stared hard at the dragon.

"Yah think? There's a dragon flying above us! Since when are our enemies dragons?!" Mars shouted in return.

"No, Mars, Jupiter is right. That dragon is odd in several ways, but my scanner is having a hard time pinpointing them. It's just pointing out the oddities but giving me no reasons as to why it's odd," Mercury piped up, tapping on her little computer while looking up at the dragon through her visor periodically. "For now I think we should just help Venus and Sailor Moon since the dragon no longer seems to care about us."

"I like that idea. They look pretty beat up," Sailor Mini-Moon said as she came to stand beside them. They all glanced at her with mild surprise due to her presence at first, but then nodded.

Indeed, the dragon did no longer care about them at the moment. Giving a final roar, which drew their attention again, its solidified form once again became the cloud-type that it was before. It didn't vanish though; instead it covered the entire sky with its darkness, appearing as though a huge thunder storm was about to happen. Contrary to that appearance, it didn't. It merely remained as the dark sky.

"We need to find out what is going on. I say we all go to the Shrine and discuss this," Mercury told the others, noting their nods of agreement. "But we may have to take Sailor Moon and Venus to the hospital first, depending on their burns."

Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Mars jumped up onto the top of the bus where the two blonde Senshi were. They saw that their fuku had disappeared to leave their normal civilian clothes, but they could still see the burns on their collapsed forms. The two girls looked at each other, neither really sure about burns at all and with a silent agreement that the hospital was a good idea for the other two, they nodded.

"Are they going to be all right, Ami?" Rini asked as each of them returned to their normal clothing while they were still all alone.

"They should be," Ami examined Serena and Mina as Rei and Lita brought them down from the top of the bus. Aspiring to be a doctor, she felt she had a good grasp on at least burns. "The burns don't appear to be too bad. Their powers probably protected them."

"Then why did they pass out?" Lita asked, shifting Serena's weight on her back so that carrying her was easier.

"Maybe the shock? Maybe the dragon's powers even sucked their energy a bit. I'm not sure," Ami shook her head regrettably, wishing that she could give them the answers.

"Whatever the case, we should just get them to safety before that dragon decides to come back," Lita said and with final nods the group left in heading for the hospital.

xxxxxxx

"I don't like the look of that sky," Spike commented from the window that lead out to the balcony of the room. He dared not step a paw outside considering it might lead to being rained on, but he had trouble taking his attention away from it nonetheless.

"-the strange attack in the city today, this dark sky appeared. Meteorologists have yet to come up with an explanation for it," the anchorwoman said on the news.

Essa sat back into the pillows on the bed, trying at least a little to relax, but she found that she couldn't. She could still hear the screaming to an extent, but now it was more dispersed and a little more muffled. It was sure in her mind that whatever was attacking the Senshi had caused the dark sky and it was also what was ailing her as well.

As soon as the sky darkened, she'd looked away from that boy, and when she looked back, he was gone. She was convinced that he was tied into it somehow as well, even though he seemed completely normal, despite his ability to break into her house without actually breaking anything to get in. It was beyond her what to think at this point and she rolled over on the bed, groaning in exasperation and some amount of fear into the pillow.

"Can we go home yet?" her muffled voice came from within the depths of the pillow.

"I don't think we'll be going home for a while," Spike told her, finally prying his eyes away from the sky and walking over to the bed. He jumped up onto it and looked at the television, as the report was still going.

"The inexplicable attack caused a car to be overthrown as well as thrown down the road, causing injury to the passengers inside. Neither were seriously injured despite some bleeding from the head and went home earlier today. It is also said that two teenaged girls were brought into hospital with mild burns, but neither they nor the group of friends they were with could explain what had caused these burns," the reporter that was working on this story said as he stood outside the hospital. "These two girls were also well enough to go home shortly after their entry into the hospital, but we will no doubt hear about them again as police are looking for any to all witnesses of this incident."

"Think it was the others?" Essa turned her head so that her face was no longer within the depths of the pillow and craned her neck in a way so that she could see the television.

"Maybe, we can't be sure," Spike thought about this as his tail swished back and forth idly. "What sort of creature were they facing that it caused burns?"

"Something with fire power, obviously, or maybe even poison. Who knows, maybe Sailor Mars was just an idiot and misfired or her attack backfired? There are plenty of possibilities." The girl noted as her feline nodded in agreement. "Seems they're okay though."

"Yes, but for how long?" the black and white pelted cat muttered.

"I just hope they won't even need our help," Essa ignored the mutter, which was incoherent to her anyway. "I'd probably not be able to help anyway."

"We'll just have to wait and see what happens," Spike commented, still watching the news even with the story having already changed. He was looking to see if any other attacks had happened besides that one, but it seemed to be an isolated incident. So far.


	6. Chapter 05

**Forced  
**_Chapter 5_

"Serena…"

Serena could hear this voice calling out to her. It was a voice she recognized, but only vaguely in her half-asleep state. Even though she wanted to know who this voice belonged to, she refused to open her eyes, liking the dream she was having much better. Ah, it was one of those romantic kinds that had happy endings all around. Just her and Darien, alone and about to ki-

"Serena! We have to go to Rei's shrine!" the voice insisted, beginning to shake the blonde-haired girl as well.

"Why?" Serena mumbled, trying to roll over, only to find that she was pinned on her back by whoever was there. Oh well, she could still sleep.

"We have to talk about the d-r-a-g-o-n," the voice whispered as it spelled, as if not wanting anyone else to hear.

"The what now?" Serena couldn't quite put letters together at the moment, so whatever they'd just spelled was a mystery.

"The dragon you meatball head!"

"What dragon?" the blonde teenager tried to think why the hell the person would be going on about a dragon, especially at an hour that was probably early… or maybe it was late? Nah, if it was late, her mother would have woken her up already, right?

"The one that attacked the city," the voice told her in a 'duh, don't you know?' type of voice.

"Oh, that dragon…" She let it sink in… "DRAGON!" she practically screamed, shooting bolt upright in her bed, only to have her skull collide with the other person's before said other person was knocked off the bed. "OW!" she added after this collision and as she felt back into her pillow.

"Serena! That hurt, you jerk!"

She propped herself up on her elbows, looking to where the other person lay on the floor. What met her eyes was a young, pink-haired girl who was rubbing her forehead where it'd been hit. It finally sunk in who she was, too.

"Rini! What are you doing here!" Serena shouted, as if the young girl couldn't hear her.

"Serena, must you shout?" Mrs. Tsukino walked to her daughter's bedroom door and stopped, popping her head in. "Your cousin has just come for a visit, no need to get all crazy over it." The woman looked to both Serena and Rini, noting that they had both had nice red spots on their foreheads, where bruises would no doubt form later. "Jeez, what were you girls doing! You're going to be bruised!"

"The little rat snuck up on me while I was asleep!" Serena insisted, pointing an accusing finger at her younger 'cousin'.

"Don't call her a rat, you know better!" her mother warned, raising her finger and shaking it back and forth a bit to show her disapproval.

"But, but!" Serena sputtered, noting that Rini was sticking out her tongue just enough so that she could see but her mother couldn't.

"I'm letting you stay home from school today! Don't make it a difficult day, Serena!" Mrs. Tsukino said while walking away, muttering something about how her daughter would never grow up.

"Letting me stay home from school? Why?" she thought aloud, contorting her face in a manner that said she didn't know what the hell was going on.

"Yeah, because you got burned and had to go to the hospital," Rini told her, getting up and carefully sitting on the bed again.

"Burned! What!" Serena panicked, lifting parts of her nightwear to see where these burns were. Her skin did seem a little tanned, but not enough that she would call it a burn…

"Calm down. It wasn't so bad. The dragon's attack burned both you and Mina. You're lucky I got there in time or else you'd be burned to a crisp!" Rini said proudly, watching as the past form of her mother stopped and stared at her with a bewildered expression.

"You saved us?" Sure, she had faith in the young girl, having seen what she could do, but it just seemed strange that she'd been saved by Rini instead of vice versa.

"Yeah, my Pink Sugar Heart Attack distracted the dragon enough so that it stopped attacking you two. Though, I was lucky that the others showed up, or else I would have been dragon food," Rini told her with a weak smile.

Serena thought a moment, shutting her eyes briefly as if it would help her remember better. It seemed to work because she suddenly clearly remembered all that happened. The sound of the car scraping down the street, the dark cloud thing turning into the dragon… the burning fire. But then that was it. Nothing more afterwards.

"I don't remember much," Serena mumbled as she shook her head.

"That's probably because you and Mina passed out," Rini told her, watching her actions with mild concern.

With her eyes still closed, she suddenly remembered something else, too. She and Mina were standing across the street from the arcade and she was yelling at all the cars going by, until… Until what? A brief view of white! White hair to be specific, and a black and white something on her shoulder! It was _her_!

"Ah!" Serena flipped her feet over the side of the bed, sending Rini flying to the floor again, buried in the mass of covers.

"What are you doing!" Rini shouted, appalled that she'd been knocked to the floor once again. Damn, her knees were going to bruise if this kept up.

"I have to tell the others! She's back!" Serena said with mild excitement and mild panic. She couldn't decide which was the more appropriate emotion at the time.

"Who?" Rini questioned, obviously having no idea who she could be talking about. Unless it was one of their enemies?

"You don't know her," Serena assured the child as she picked some clothes out of the closet and ran towards the bathroom to shower as quickly as possible.

"Serena, if you're going to shower, I'd suggest not using the hot water!" Rini called down the hall. She knew that the burns weren't too bad, but the heat from the shower would surely cause her pain anyway, at least, that's what Ami told her.

Rini wasn't sure if she'd even been heard, hearing the bathroom door slam and a frantic array of noises coming from within it. It wasn't until Rini heard the wail of pain that she knew that Serena hadn't heard her at all. A sigh escaped the young girl as she walked downstairs towards the television room to watch some cartoons before Serena dragged her off.

"Is she okay?" Mrs. Tsukino asked Rini as the child came down the stairs.

"Probably. She just used the hot water," her explanation was simple but effective.

"That girl," Mrs. Tsukino sighed as well, shaking her head before heading back to whatever she'd been doing.

Not too long after, a wet-haired Serena Tsukino came stomping down the stairs, half of her head of hair that she had yet to tie back in her unique hairstyle still hanging to the one side of her face. She seemed to be in much more a rush than she usually was, and she wasn't even going to school.

"Told yah," Rini said to Serena as she entered into the living room where a children's cartoon was playing on the television.

"Come on, Rini, let's go," Serena instructed, finishing tying the one side of her hair before moving on to the next.

"Serena, you do realize that the others are at school right now, right?" Rini asked, noticing the girl stop in her tracks.

"What time is it?" the teenager asked irritably due to how quickly she was doing everything, and all for nothing.

"Around ten in the morning," Rini turned back to her television show, paying no more attention to the other girl at the moment.

She would have hung her head, but she was still busying herself with tying up the other side of her hair. It was much heavier when wet, so it took a long while before she could actually get it up and right. While she did this, she wandered over to the window, wondering if it was raining because it was so dark out, but she saw that it wasn't. There was just a large mass of darkness overhead with seemingly no explanation.

"Jeez, it's dark outside," Serena commented idly as she rested her now-free hands on the windowsill.

"Yeah, the dragon did that, too," the pink-haired girl spoke in a quite voice.

"What?" That seemed to be the word of the morning, but she didn't really care. Her head and turned sharply to look at her future daughter in question.

"I'll explain later when we go see the others," Rini replied without paying too much attention.

Something then dawned on Serena, and her eyes narrowed in irritation. "Wait a minute!" she said shortly after. "Why'd you wake me up so early when there's still a long time before we can actually go see everyone else!"

"I didn't know how long it would take to wake you up, so I had to start early." The girl sat unmoving, barely realizing that she was about to be in a world of trouble.

"You midget! I was having the best dream and you woke me up for nothing!"

Rini's form stiffened as it hit her that she was about to be mauled if she didn't move. Abandoning the cartoon she was watching, she got up and ran as fast as she could to get away from Serena, hoping all the while that she wouldn't be caught. She could hear the angry footfalls behind her as she made a dash for the kitchen, where she knew her 'aunt' was making a pie at her request. The young girl slid to a halt as she turned into the room and suddenly hid behind her surprised 'aunt's' form.

"What's going on?" Mrs. Tsukino asked in an alarmed voice, but she didn't have to wait long for the answer. "You're very lively for having to go to the hospital last night, Serena," she noted while her daughter fumed and practically breathed fire out at them.

"That little-!" she stopped herself from saying rat because she didn't want to get yelled at, but she did point very aggressively towards her prey.

"Why don't you use that energy for something like school?" Mrs. Tsukino sighed heavily. "It's always wasted on other things and not the important stuff."

Instead of replying, Serena turned on her heal and stomped out of the kitchen, heading towards the staircase. At the bottom of the stairs, she gripped onto the rail to release her anger, at which point she shouted, "Luna!"

"Luna's with Artemis, probably discussing stuff," Rini told her, hiding behind a coat-rack for protection.

"Fine then, I'll go by myself," Serena huffed, turning to put her shoes on.

"Where are you going?" the younger of the two asked in slight alarm.

"I'm going to find out what's going on! That or go to the arcade! I'm bored!" she said before adding on in a shout to her mother, "Mom, I'm going out!"

"Serena! I think you should stay home and rest!" her mother called back, despite all the energy she'd just seen fuming out of her daughter.

"I'm going to take Rini to the arcade!" Serena half-lied, now planning on actually going to the arcade as she grabbed her 'cousin's' wrist.

"Fine," her mother replied reluctantly. "Be careful and be back before dinner at least!"

"All right, mom!" Serena called back, heading out the door as Rini now had her shoes on.

"You'll really take me to the arcade!" Rini asked excitedly, running a little to keep up with her future mother's faster pace.

"Sure, why not?" Serena grumbled, stopping a moment to look at the sky. "It's so strange."

"Yeah. I barely even know what happened and I was watching the whole time!" Rini nodded, her pink hair, styled much like Serena's, tumbling about.

As they walked to the arcade, it was in complete silence, which was odd for the both of them. Serena was usually running her mouth about something or another, and Rini would be more often than not as well, but both seemed too perplexed and enthralled by the sky and the feeling around them. It was a negative feeling, but not like any they'd felt before. Usually the evil, bad guys felt suppressive with their powers, but with this one it was more like it was just floating around them, waiting to latch onto something.

They noted that many people were carrying umbrellas, expecting rain to fall on them at any minute, but there wasn't even the smell of rain in the air, which was pretty odd considering the clouds looked like the ones that bore rain. The two girls knew that they weren't rain clouds though, but the clouds of an evil they'd never faced before. Evils were usually like that. Always new, or they tried to be new anyway; sometimes that just didn't work.

When the two arrived at the arcade, there was no one in there. Well, except those who either dropped out of or skipped school, as well as a few other older people who went to college and apparently didn't have any classes. Serena watched as Rini instantly went up to the new game 'Trouble in Tokyo', trying to see over the person's shoulder as they played.

Surprising to Serena, she didn't much feel like playing video games, though she thought she'd wanted to back at the house. The air about her was more subdued than it had been earlier that morning and she shivered slightly, thinking that maybe it was that evil surrounding them. Yeah, that made sense, didn't it?

"Hey, kid, stop looking over my shoulder! Shouldn't you be in day care or something!" the person playing the game became fed up with the pair of eyes that were watching him and decided to shout at the person those eyes belonged to.

"Hey, buddy! I was just trying to see how good you are!" Rini backed off as the guy made to push her away with his arm. She placed her hands on her hips to show her irritation as well, hoping that maybe the guy would just leave.

"I'm a helluva lot better than you, kid," the guy told her, glaring before turning back to the game, which he'd paused when he became distracted.

"You shouldn't swear," Rini muttered, making faces behind his back afterwards.

"Rini, just find another game to play," Serena dragged the girl away, half wondering all the while why there only seemed to be one of 'Trouble In Tokyo'. Though, maybe they'd only gotten one to start in case it was a really bad game?

"But I want to pl-" Rini whined, though was cut off in mid-whine.

"NO! Damn it! Stupid game!" the guy yelled, causing several others to look his way in complete confusion before returning to whatever they were doing.

Rini stifled a laugh and complied with Serena's dragging her away so she didn't get smothered by that guy if he got angry with the laughing. Apparently he wasn't as good as he thought he was.

It ended up that they sat down at a Sailor Moon game, which was supposedly the latest one. Who could know for sure though, right? The arcade sometimes got behind with the 'latest' of games, but no one really seemed to mind. Serena sat in the seat beside Rini as Rini herself took on the role of the super heroine who, in real life, was sitting beside her. The enemy was a bunch of monsters attacking a park, but Rini wagered that even her weaker attacks could beat them in the real world.

"Too bad the enemy isn't this easy to beat, eh, Serena?" Rini asked, looking to the teenager out of the corner of her eye. She was growing concerned with the increasing silence that the girl was partaking in. It was terribly unlike Serena. And when she heard no reply she said, "Hey, Serena, you're lucky you're not as fat as Sailor Moon is in this game. You'd never fit into your fuku." Nothing.

Rini paused the game before waving her hand in front of Serena's face. The girl seemed completely dazed though, like she was actually thinking about something profound instead of about video games, comic books and fantasy-type romances. It took a hit to the side of the blonde's head to get her out of her daze, but even then she was a bit loopy.

"What?" Serena just looked at Rini, not even angry that she'd just been struck in the side of the head. Usually she would have been whining about how it would just be another bruise, like the one that was indeed forming where her skull had met Rini's earlier that morning.

"Is everything okay? You're… I don't know… quiet," Rini stumbled for words. Quiet just didn't seem to be the right word for Serena's current state.

"I just feel kind… lethargic," Serena told her.

"Let-what-ic?" She was taken aback. It sounded more like a word Ami would say, not Serena. Something definitely wasn't right at all.

"Are the others out of school yet, Rini?" Serena didn't even bother looking for a clock, feeling too lazy to do so. It wasn't her normal lazy, either. It was one that she couldn't explain and would like to have snapped out of, but she just couldn't. She wondered why she hadn't been that way at home and why it was affecting her now.

"No, not yet… there's still a while…" Rini said slowly, pressing end game by that point, more concerned with Serena's well being.

"Okay," Serena said, shrugging slightly and leaning back a little more in the chair she was sitting in.

"How 'bout we go get some lunch?" Rini suggested in hopes that food, or at least the mention of it would get Serena back to her normal self, but even that didn't seem to be working.

"All right, let's go then," she said in an even, uninterested voice. She stood up, watching as Rini did the same and followed her out of the arcade.

When they stepped outside, Rini shivered lightly, not liking the air around them at all. She gingerly took Serena's hand to be led to wherever they were going to get food, greatly surprised when Serena didn't pull her hand away. Sure, she knew that Serena cared about her, but usually she was against acting motherly. It was definitely creeping Rini out, and she knew that she had to do something. But since she didn't think she could do anything alone, she opted for waiting for the others. Yes, she would have to wait.


	7. Chapter 06

**Forced  
**_Chapter 6_

Serena and Rini had been the first ones to arrive at the Hikawa shrine, as they'd gone strait there after retrieving some food. Rini had suggested they go do something else first, but Serena had mentioned that she didn't want to, feeling too lethargic – Rini still didn't know what that word meant – to do anything but sit around. So sit around they did on the steps of the shrine, which only caused Rei's grandfather to come and speak to them when they'd first arrived.

He'd made his usual comments about how pretty girls like them should work at his shrine, even though he recognized Serena to be one of his granddaughter's friends. He'd thought that maybe with Rei not there he'd be able to convince her to work there, too. What happened though was that he became mildly frightened by the usually spastic and energetic blonde's current lackluster state. He also became frightened when she started lecturing him about trying to get pretty young girls to work at his shrine. Needless to say, he left them alone afterwards.

Rini had been staring at a few flowers growing randomly out of the ground around the walkway, or maybe they were just pretty weeds, when she heard footsteps coming up the huge set of stairs after what seemed like forever. Looking up, she saw that it was the priestess of the shrine herself, Rei who was venturing up those steps which led to her home. The young girl also saw the amount of surprise that was on the older female's face as she noted their presence and then as she noted Serena's unusually placid state.

Dumbfounded by Serena's look of disinterest about everything, Rei walked over to Rini to find out what was going on. Carrying her book bag at her side, she approached the pink-haired child with slight apprehension, as if not wanting to draw Serena's attention.

"What's wrong with her?" Rei asked before also adding, "And how'd you get that bruise?" She was of course referring to the mark on the child's forehead.

"I have no idea what's wrong with her… she's been this way since we left the house this morning," Rini shook her head as she said this. "And that," she pointed to the bruise, "is her fault, too. Her giant skull smashed into mine when I woke her up."

Rei nodded slightly and then said, "Maybe it has to do with that dragon and all the negative energy surrounding us now."

"Hi there, Rei," Serena greeted after having made her way over to her friend. Her voice was even and slow, almost broken like she had a speech impediment. "How are you?"

"Hi… Serena… I'm fine…" Rei could barely even think of what to say, unused to being asked that by Serena. Everything just seemed so odd. "How about we go inside, huh, Serena?" Rei thought of this in hopes that any purity that the shrine held would be able to break whatever potential spell Serena was under. And she also wondered why she and Rini hadn't fallen into the same state.

"Inside? Okay…" Serena nodded in agreement, taking no note as Rei threw Rini a concerned glance.

"Yeah, we can have cookies or something, too," Rei added to see if it would perk her up, but saw that it didn't at all.

Once inside, Rini and Serena situated themselves in the main room where they always had their meetings while Rei went off to get the aforementioned cookies as well as a few comics books to kill time, too. When she returned, she placed a larger stack of comics on the floor beside the table and placed the tray of cookies in the middle of it so that everyone could get them. While Rini helped herself to a cookie or two, Serena just kind of stared at them before picking up a comic book and flipping through it casually.

"Hey, this is the new volume, isn't it?" she held up the comic for Rei to see which one she was referring to. Upon seeing Rei nod she added, "I've been waiting for this one to come out." At which point she started reading it.

Rei picked up one of the cookies on the tray and put it in her mouth as she pulled her homework out of her book bag. She figured she might as well do it before the others got there and while Serena was still acting less than normal. Every once in a while she'd glance up at the blonde to make sure she was still living, but she didn't seem to be getting any more normal at all. And every time she looked at Rini, she saw that she was just as unaffected as Rei herself was. Somehow, Serena was more susceptible to the negativity than they were. She just hoped the others would come soon so that they could get things under way and maybe figure out how to help Serena.

As the others began to arrive, they all noticed the same thing Rei and Rini did. While they did all give their hellos to her, they all began whispering amongst themselves to theorize what was wrong and how to fix it. They'd all decided upon not starting the actual meeting until Darien arrived as well, since they figured it'd been good if he was in on the information as well.

"Sorry I'm late," Darien greeted when he did indeed arrive quite a bit later than everyone else. He didn't give any explanation and no one asked for one, so they all just fell into a strange little silence.

"Hi, Darien," Serena greeted in return with a little smile, now resting down the comic book that she'd been reading.

"Something wrong, Serena?" he asked as he instantly knew something wasn't right with her. He'd heard that she'd been attacked the day before, but this didn't seem to be a result of that.

"No, I'm fine. I'm just feeling lethargic, that's all," Serena supplied, again with a small smile.

"See! I told you she used a big word!" Rini whispered to the other girls who all nodded in agreement and shock.

"Serena, I didn't know you even knew that word," Ami commented, and though she sounded kind of like she was insulting the other girl, she really wasn't trying to. She honestly didn't know that Serena had known that word.

"What's this bruise from?" Darien asked as he sat beside Serena and moved her bangs slightly to observe the injury. He noted that it didn't seem to be anything more than a bruise, which was good.

"That's Rini's fault," she said with slight contempt, glancing over at the child as she did so.

"My fault!" Rini cried out in protest. "YOU'RE the one who decided to shoot up and smash your thick, friggen skull against mine!" She pushed her own bangs out of the way as well to show Darien her own bruise. He was shocked that she was there in the first place, but this was just strange beyond reason.

"YOU shouldn't have been so close to my 'thick, friggen skull' in the first place you little rat," Serena shot back, and though her voice seemed to be lightening up a bit it was still fairly calm.

"ANYWAY!" Rei shouted over them before it got too carried away. "We have more important things to deal with. One being that dragon."

"What happened to it?" Mina asked, since she'd been unconscious by the time the dragon had gone.

"You've noticed the sky?" Lita said more than asked. "Well, that's the dragon. It turned into mist or a cloud or something and then, poof, now it's the sky." She even made little hand motions as she said 'poof'; her fingers joined at the tips before breaking apart and then resting on her lap again.

"But how is that even possible?" Darien asked, leaning lightly on the table with his elbows, staring at each of them intently. "How can a dragon just suddenly turn into mist or whatever it is?"

"No, no. It's the other way around. How can mist turn into a dragon? 'Cause that's what it was in the first place, right, Serena?" Mina told them and then looked to Serena, who nodded.

"I couldn't get any solid readings on the dragon at all," Ami told them, though most already knew that. Even when she'd tried further later in the night, there'd been nothing coming up on her little computer about the dragon that would be helpful to them.

"And the only thing I get from the sky and everything is a very negative feeling," Rei added before popping another cookie in her mouth. She'd had to go get more when the others arrived, but now the plate was pretty full again.

"So, we have pretty much nothing," Lita sighed heavily, joined by the others.

A silence fell over them while they all sat and thought. None of them could come up with anything that they should do though and it was only frustrating them further. Occasionally, one of them would open their mouths to speak, only to shut it again promptly afterwards. That was until someone finally thought of something relevant to say.

"Say, Serena…" Mina began, drawing all of their attention. "Who was it that you were chasing?"

"Wha?" Serena said at first, before it clicked in, and when it did it seemed that all light bulbs of normalcy decided to kick in as well. "Oh!" She caused them all to jump by saying this quite loudly. "I'm not totally sure, but pretty sure that I saw Essa."

"Essa?" Mina asked, knowing the name was familiar, but she couldn't quite place it.

"You mean Sailor Star! That Essa!" Rei demanded to know, the others looking suddenly intrigued as well.

"Who's Sailor Star?" Rini couldn't help but question since she hadn't been there during that whole ordeal, but she knew that whoever she was, the others were either surprised or alarmed by this.

"She was a Dark Senshi, but then she became good again," Ami told the young girl simply, though she knew that calling Star good was taking a risk.

"Good! Are you kidding me?" Rei spouted, outraged by what Ami had just said.

"I have to say I agree with Rei on that one," Darien added with a pensive look on his face. He wasn't about to say why, not wanting to alarm his future daughter even though she was looking to him for answers.

"What'd she do?" Rini asked gently after they all fell into a heavy silence. Obviously this was very serious, for why else would they be being so dodgy about it?

"Don't worry about it, we can take care of her…" Mina said finally, she, like the others, not wanting to alarm the younger girl.

"Ah, come on! I can-" Rini began to protest.

"Rini, just let it go," Serena told her, at which point she fell completely silent.

"No matter what she's done in the past, why is she here now?" Darien asked, though he doubted that the others would know since they seemed just as surprised as he was when Serena brought it up. Not only was he surprised, he was worried, too. Was she back as a friend or a foe? Was her goal once again to destroy the future by targeting the past?

"Could she have something to do with the dragon?" Lita speculated aloud, thinking that the others would probably see the same thing as she did.

"I think we should consult the fire," Rei suggested finally. She hadn't done so already, but looking for the answers as they were now, nothing was being accomplished.

With that agreed amongst them, they all headed to the room where the sacred fire would be lit. The room was never disturbed and only Rei could command the flames so no one else ever went in there without her. At the moment, they all got situated on the floor while Rei went to create the flames that she would consult. She ensured that there was enough wood and kindling and proceeded to light them, which took a minute or two to catch. Once the flames had caught though, they danced around in the little pit as Rei kneeled before it.

The group of females, as well as Darien, watched as she took to making symbols with her hands and whispering to the flames. They couldn't hear what she was saying, but she assumed that she was asking the fire anything it could tell them about their newest enemy. What the response was, was something that they hadn't expected at all.

While the fire only crackled at first, after a moment it took a more violent action; it quite literally roared. They were all startled beyond reason and frightened when the fire suddenly lashed out and took form of the dragon they'd seen, only smaller. Its head and two front legs lurched out in the form of the flames while the wings spread behind it to look more imposing. As they all took to taking cover, it towered over them and cried out again before returning to the form of a normal fire.

Rei peeled herself off the ground, where she'd been half-thrown as the fire lashed out. She was slightly singed by the flames since she'd been so close, but nothing more than that physically. Mentally her mind was reeling. It was screaming out that something was terribly wrong and would be terribly wrong in the end, and she couldn't figure out what was going on. As she sat there propped up by her own hands, she breathed heavily in trying to calm herself.

The others all slowly came out of their cowering positions as well, none of them touched by the fire, but they could feel the heat of it when it lashed out. Each of them just stared incredulously at the now calm flames and they also looked to Rei to make sure she was all right, too, which she seemed to be.

"What was that?" Lita mustered fearfully, her eyes unable to leave the fire at that point. She'd made herself as small as possible when she saw the flames take on the form of that dragon, resisting screaming out as well. Could the dragon possess the fire?

"It's not over yet," Rei spoke in a terrified manner, pushing herself backwards as she went before bumping into Ami. Neither seemed to care that they'd just collided, too perplexed by what was happening.

The red-orange light danced on the walls, the room having grown quite dark and several shadows forming. These shadows took form as well, forms that they all –excluding Rini – recognized, but couldn't quite place. There were three of them, all appearing to be young teenage girls and each standing closer together. The one girl held out an orb and the other two leaned in to look closer at it, at which point the shadow from the orb expanded and engulfed the three girls.

The shape the shadow on the wall took next was of one girl alone, a girl who could have easily have been mistake as Sailor Moon, but it wasn't her and somehow they all knew it, especially when it changed with a suddenly mysterious seeping of silver light and became the form of another long-haired Senshi. But then this Senshi too disappeared, becoming the shadow of someone in normal attire, with shorter hair than the last before taking on the form of the dragon.

As they saw the dragon, they all heard the strangest sound. A wailing of sorts, followed by a loud roar that shook through them all. They all couldn't help but cover their ears and the group visibly jumped when they heard the fire crack even louder than the roar before extinguishing itself in a puff of thick black smoke.

Coughing, they ran out of the room as fast as their shaking limbs would take them, though they were tailed by the smoke. As they ran father outside so that the smoke could get into the open air, Rei's grandfather came charging out and asking frantically what was going on. The old man's arms were flailing around in the air, his hands placing themselves on his head every once in a while as he looked at all the thick smoke.

"What happened, Rei! What did you do to my shrine!" he shouted accusingly at his granddaughter.

"It's not my fault, grampa! The fire got out of control!" she defended herself, coughing slightly even as she took to putting her hands on her hips in an annoyed manner.

"You're going to burn the place down!" he shrieked, his eyes wide as he looked at her.

"The fire's out, grampa!" Rei told him sharply, trying to calm him down.

As this arguing continued, the others all stood near each other, making sure everyone was all right. No one seemed injured, just terribly shaken by the whole ordeal. They all looked at each other silently, trying to determine what exactly had happened and what it all meant, but even silently couldn't come up with anything. Something strange was going on though, and this wasn't any normal enemy that they were going to beat in one day, that was for sure.

"The sky," Ami was looking up at it, watching as the smoke joined the rest of the darkness that shrouded them. "Hasn't this happened before?"

"What are you talking about?" Lita huffed, leaning on the tree they happened to be standing by as she tried to regain her breath.

"Remember the one time with Sailor Space I think it was? When she came to fight Star…" Ami refreshed her own memory as well as everyone else's.

"I remember that," Darien spoke up. "That was the day that Star vanished, too…" He could recall it all quite clearly.

That day, he'd been out for a walk just to get some fresh air. All the drama that had been taking place was causing him to give himself a headache when thinking about it, so he'd taken to going for a walk through the park. At which point, he'd noticed that the sky darkened and he'd also seen Essa there as well. Neither had been able to determine what was going on then either, and each had headed back to their homes, well, Essa headed back for Serena's anyway. And then, Sailor Space had attacked Star, while Darien and Serena had been able to do nothing but stare. This lack of helping had upset the girl quite a bit, and she'd vanished afterwards… though not for long.

"Who's Sailor Space, now?" Rini asked, totally unaware as to who they were talking about, though she wanted to know. She had to help them, didn't she? That's why she'd come back, after all.

"She was another of the Dark Senshi, but she's… gone now," Mina chose her words carefully.

"Jeez, how many of these Dark Senshi people are there?" Rini questioned irritably, not liking the sounds of these guys at all.

"There were three, but none of them are Dark Senshi anymore," Serena supplied, looking to Rini at the same time.

"That we know of," Rei rejoined them, having gotten her grandfather to calm down and go back to whatever he was doing before.

"As much as I'd hate to admit it, she could be right. What if Essa's gone back to being a Dark Senshi again?" Lita asked carefully, knowing how Serena wouldn't want to think of such a thing.

"We'll just have to fight her then…" Darien told them with slight apprehension, for the same reasons that Lita was questioning carefully.

"We'll just make her good again. She's proven that she truly is a good person, right?" Serena asked, noting that none of her friends were supporting her on this, which made her heart sink. The girl could also feel that strange feeling trying to slow her down again, but she was trying her best to fight it off this time, which seemed to be working. She wondered if it was because all her friends were present now.

Rini looked to each of them curiously, not understanding this tension between any of them at all. She hardly believed that it was merely because this Sailor Star was a Dark Senshi before that they were all nervous. There was something more to it, and she was going to find out what it was since they wouldn't tell her. Maybe she would just have to find this Essa person herself, though that could be really difficult.

"So what do we do now?" Mina asked after a moment.

"I think all we can do is wait and see what happens next," Serena said with a slight quietness to her voice. She was feeling rather dejected that her friends weren't with her on Essa being a good person, though she could understand why.

"I hate just sitting around and not knowing what to do!" Rei complained loudly, causing a bird or two to fly away in fright at the sudden loud noise.

"What else can we do? We've exhausted all our options," Ami told them. "Except for maybe just going to see Essa ourselves, but I doubt any of us wants to do that."

"She's right you know…" Lita nodded in agreement.

It was Rini who spoke next as she said, "Well, then we wait."


	8. Chapter 07

**Forced  
**_Chapter 07_

Essa stood on the bridge, leaning on the railing and staring into the water. She remembered one time when she used to stare into the water and see not her own reflection, but that of her brother. But that was in the past, a past that she'd love so much to forget due to the horrors it held. Now when she looked into the water, all she saw was her own reflection. The reflection of a Japanese teenager with pure, naturally white hair, grey eyes and pale skin with an expression that could hide the discontent within her. A discontent that had been well suppressed until having to return to the place of its origin with the powers of its origin to boot.

She sighed heavily, all of this much too angst-ridden for her liking. Running a hand through her hair, she walked away from the edge of the water, contemplating only about avoiding something that she figured she wouldn't be able to avoid for too long. The other day had been too close for comfort in way of the attack. She'd been convinced, though terrifyingly so, that she'd have to transform to get that dragon – or whatever it was, since she doubted it was an actual dragon – out of there and stop it from harming people. The others had done just fine without her though. Just fine.

But then again, things weren't just fine. Any idiot who had vision could see that much. The sky was dark again, like it was constantly going to rain but no rain would fall. Yet she could tell it wasn't rain that would fall; she didn't know what would, but not rain. The air around her was far too ominous for it to simply be rain.

The teen noticed several people walking about had coats on or thick sweaters, while she simply had a long sleeved, though thin, shirt on. Maybe it was cold outside because of the lack of sun? She couldn't quite tell, passing it off as being used to the cold air she got back home. Whether it was actually cold or not, she couldn't quite feel it. At times she thought maybe there was some sort of nip in the air, but then it would go away quickly.

At the moment, she was travelling down the walkway alone, lacking her faithful, feline companion as he had still been asleep when she'd left the hotel that morning. That had probably been because it was so early in the morning, but she had found that she was just unable to sleep anymore. It wasn't any jetlag or any of that kind of thing, she just couldn't sleep. Maybe it was that sound she could hear, but not identify; the sound that seemed to come from the sky. It wasn't loud, but loud enough that it caused her to wonder what it was.

As she walked down the pathway, something caught her attention. She saw signs posted on trees and lamp posts, which peeked her curiousity. She walked over to one of the signs that didn't already have people hoarding around it to see what it was. It had been the bright coloured paper that had caught her eye, along with what looked like a picture of a colourful tree or something on it. Something just told her she had to go look to see what it was.

When she approached and stood right before it, she saw that it was a sign for an upcoming festival. It wasn't just any festival either, it was the Star Festival. It was held each year on either July the seventh or August the seventh depending on where one was, and this one was referring to the festival on July the seventh. The picture was actually of colourful strips of paper on a stick of bamboo, each having something scribbled on them. Of course these scribbles didn't actually say anything, but they were there to represent the words just the same.

She was aware of what the festival was, but had never been herself, which was somewhat understandable considering her life thus far. It seemed like something she might go to, maybe just for the sake of it. This was supposed to be like a vacation, after all. Couldn't she at least enjoy herself while she was there? Yeah, she thought she could and more importantly she thought she should. If it wasn't for the blasted thing around her neck, she would be enjoying herself more as she wouldn't be able to help at all, but she found that she couldn't simply get rid of it. It was as if part of her yearned for it.

"I'll go," she told herself firmly, set on doing something she wanted instead of doing something that was dictated by whether she had to fight some evil or go see some shrink. "This is my vacation…"

Gently, she pried the sheet of paper with the information off of the lamp post it had been taped to. She wanted to take it so she could remember it, and when she had it safely off of the post, she folded the tape over the edges so it wouldn't stick, folded the paper and then shoved it in her jeans pocket. Something about making that decision and taking the sheet of paper to remind her made her content, like she was controlling her life for once. A sigh escaped her at this thought, and she continued down the path again.

Whilst taking this walk, she tried to think of something to do. She didn't just want to walk around all day, but she didn't know what else to do. Maybe she could go to the arcade again? No way, people there probably wanted to kill her now that she'd so easily beaten that stupid game. That and there was high percentage in chance that Serena and the others would be there gaming away as well. Perhaps she could go find that café then and see if her acquaintances from there were around, though they might not be. They probably had school or something… but it was a thought. She kept that as one of the things she'd consider before going to bore herself at the arcade.

Another thing that popped into her mind was just going back to the hotel and sitting there with her laptop opened and waiting for her to do something. But then there wasn't really anything entertaining to do on her laptop except check if she had any new e-mail or something like that. She didn't feel like doing much else on there.

One of the final thoughts that surfaced in her mind was going to the library to find something to do there. Maybe they had some good books that she could read, though she wasn't much of a reader. Running out of ideas that would probably work at keeping her occupied for a while, she sighed in exasperation.

It ended up that she trudged her way back to the hotel, aiming to sit with her laptop and look to see if there was anything special going on in the city today, rather than waiting for the festival to come. She didn't want to just sit around all day waiting; she wanted something to do and was intent on finding it. She figured that there must be some sort of tourist website that would tell her some place to go. It was kind of sad how she used to live in that city and yet now she knew almost nothing about it again. Maybe that was because she'd tried so hard to forget it in the first place.

She made her way back to the hotel, being careful to look around as she went in case the other Senshi were out that early for some reason or another. She was also on the look out for that guy, since she couldn't seem to find him anywhere, not that she was searching all too far and wide. Another she was on the lookout for was whatever was attacking the people, since she figured it might come after her as well.

Once she got back to the hotel, she wasted no time in heading for the elevator, waiting with a group of other people for it to come down to carry them up. She would have just taken the stairs, but didn't feel all too much like climbing that many stairs since she was on one of the higher floors. Okay, so she wasn't too high up; she was just being lazy. Her excuse was that it was morning as well. Oh yes, she was still too tired.

She heard the elevator ding and the doors slide open. The people let the passengers make their way out, some bowing to those they knew, others just standing there impatiently waiting their turn as if they were going to miss some party or something upstairs. All of those waiting piled into the elevator though, instructing the one closest to the number pad which floor number to press. There were those who seemed pretty ticked when a person was only going up one floor, but no one actually vocalized any of this.

The white haired teen ignored those around her, rising in the rectangular device with them and then stepping outside the door once they reached her floor. A few others got off with her and they went their separate ways. Essa headed back to her room, getting her key-card ready to open the door. Once she found her room number, she stuck the key-card in the slot and pulled it out when the little green light came on and told her it was unlocked.

After closing the door, she turned around, noting that the balcony door was open. The curtains shifted slightly in the breeze they were getting up there and she made her way over to the sliding door to see who was out there. Of course she had an idea who was out there, but she was cautious nonetheless.

"Ah, so she does live," Spike commented from his place on the rail as she walked out there and leaned on the rail as well.

"Yeah, I live," she said in return, grabbing the hair elastic that sat around her wrist and putting it in her shorter hair so that it would stay out of her eyes with this breeze.

"Where'd you wander off to?" Spike asked more out of curiousity than out of reprimanding parent-like attitude. His green eyes flickered in her direction before flickering back to the sky. This sky was certainly troubling him, as he recognized it. This was not new, but he didn't know the cause, which bothered him. No matter how much he pondered he couldn't find the answer and no matter how much he tried to ignore it, it wouldn't leave his eyes.

"Nowhere specific. I'm just trying to find something to do for today in the exciting city of Tokyo," Essa told him, manoeuvring her way to actually sit up on the railing, her back facing the outside world as she watched her feline companion. It was a good thing she had good balance. "The only thing I found was that the Star Festival's coming up, but that's about it. So, I came back to look on the computer for something to do."

"There should be something out there," Spike nodded. Of course since he was a cat he had terribly good balance, but then he saw something that startled him and he nearly fell. "Essa! Look at that!"

She looked over her shoulder, her brows furrowing in questioning the urgency in her friend's voice. When she saw what he saw though, she knew why the urgency was there. From the sky, a blackness was falling like rain, and it was falling not just on one specific area, but all around them. It was like liquefied soot, though it seemed to vanish as soon as it touched anything. She withdrew from her place on the balcony, turning and staring in horror, noting from the corner of her eye that people on balconies of the same building and other buildings were doing the same thing.

"We have to get out of here," Essa said, her voice low. "I can feel it. It's not a good idea to stay here."

"I agree, let's go." Spike quickly jumped off the rail, heading into the hotel room, followed closely by his companion.

Essa shut the door as quickly as she could, which seemed to be just in time as the rain made to hit her window as well. It dissipated to nothing when it did hit, but she wasn't taking any chances as to what it would do if it hit her. She ran over to the door, trying to ignore this the best she could while putting on her shoes again. Checking to make sure her key-card was in her pocket, she hoisted her feline into her arms and bolted it out the door.

"No time for elevator," she mumbled to herself, driven by the instinct that she must get out of the building or else something would happen to not only her, but the people around her. She practically body checked the door that led to the stairs open, ensuring that she didn't injure her feline as well. The echo of the door flying open crashed against the walls of the stairwell, as did her footsteps as she went down the stairs two at a time, until she got to the landing, where she would jump if there were five or so steps left.

Through the lobby, she dodged around people, giving her apologies when necessary before getting outside. People outside were attempting to avoid this dark rain, and since it didn't seem to be hurting them if they didn't have umbrellas or covers or the likes, Essa stepped out from under the doorway and ran out into the world. This only seemed to make things worse.

A thunderous roar crashed through the air and it was so loud that people had to cover their ears to prevent the ear splitting noise from actually damaging their hearing. Even with ears plugged, screams could be heard flooding the air in terror of the noise. That was no thunder, that was for sure. It sounded much worse than that.

Essa was not among those covering her ears, more concerned with covering the black and white feline's more sensitive ears. He cringed in her grasp, probably still able to hear the sound loud and clear even though she was trying to protect him from it. He even had to resist his cat instincts to spasm at the loud noise and try to run away from it.

The teen began running down the street for no apparent reason. She knew that it wouldn't get her away from the sound, but she knew that she had to run. If she didn't run, something horrible would happen to her. Something that she'd run all the way to Russia to avoid. Something that she'd discarded her transformation pendant to avoid. Yet, it was all rushing back at her again, now worse than before.

As she turned the corner on the street, she found her self colliding with someone else. She came face to face with one who she'd also been trying to find, only managing to stare at the male figure in shock as he steadied them both to prevent their falling. She opened her mouth to try and say something, but nothing came out.

"You have to stop it," he told her sharply, his light eyes holding a no nonsense look about them. This was obviously very serious.

"Stop what?" Essa demanded, feeling Spike look up at the boy as well, even though she still had his ears covered.

"That!" He turned her form around and pointed over her shoulder in the right direction.

"Oh… my…" Her eyes were wide and she resisted dropping the cat in her arms. Instead, she opted to clutching him slightly tighter, like he was some doll rather than a living creature.

The rain was now swirling around, looking more like a tornado than anything else. It melded together with a dark coloured light before Essa saw its form spring forth. The wings shot out from the sides of the creature's body, the legs drawn up towards the lower body with visible hooked claws hanging down. The thunderous roar cracked through the air again, but even over this thunderous roar Essa could hear something else.

"You can hear it, can't you?" the male asked her, and she whipped around to look at him.

"Hear what? What is it?" Essa demanded to know, her eyes locking into his and looking for answers. Something was telling her now that he had to the answers to give.

"The screaming! The screaming that doesn't stop. The screaming that hasn't stopped," the boy told her, trying terribly hard to disregard the fear in her eyes. It was sending jolts of guilt and pain through him to see the fear, but yet he knew that if he didn't do this it would not stop. The screaming would continue.

"What screaming?" Spike demanded to know, looking between his white haired companion and the black haired male. What worried him was that Essa seemed to know exactly what he was talking about.

There was no answer that came though, as they heard another voice cry out into the air, seemingly from far away, but yet also seemingly terribly close.

"Mars Celestial Fire Surround!"

Essa looked back to the dragon again, noticing the red fire rushing towards the dragon and attacking it. It seemed to have little effect, even when joined by the attacks of the fire Senshi's comrades. The dragon only seemed to be angry though when they attack, diving towards the unseen Senshi, who did appear to be closer than Essa would have liked.

"A dragon?" Spike questioned, looking to the boy again for answers.

"Not a dragon. That's just a form it has taken. Something to terrify the people," he shook his head.

"What is it really then?" Essa asked him, looking back to him again by that point.

"I don't know exactly."

"What do you mean you don't-?" Essa began, only to be cut off.

"You're going to have to help them this time, or else it will defeat them," he told her, taking her pendant into his hand and stroking it before letting it go. "You must."

"But…"

"Essa, I think he's right," Spike commented, hearing no more calls of attacks coming from the Senshi, though only three attacks had been called out in the first place. Obviously some Senshi were missing or just not there yet.

She thought a moment, looking over at the dragon and then at the people scattering all around her. They were still trying to find some safe place to hide, even though the rain had stopped and the dragon wasn't too terribly close to them. Probably too close for comfort though, and with her heart racing she knew she had to make a decision.

"I guess I should help…" she looked down at the ground and using the back of her hand to wipe away the tears that were forming before they could fall. Her body was shaking with the fear and her eyes were watering because of it… but she was reasoning with herself. "What good has running done so far, right?" She couldn't even bring herself to be angry and say that it was all this boy's fault. This boy who she still didn't know the name of and at the moment didn't really care to know the name of.

"Then go," she heard the boy tell her and without even looking at him again she ran down the street towards where the attacks were coming from.

"Essa, you can do this," Spike tried to console her as he rocked about in her arms while she ran. He felt the fear emanating from her at that point, but he didn't know anything he could do about it.

A few people running down the street tried to tell her to run the other way with them, claiming that there was too much danger over the way she was going. She just shoved past them though, continuing on her way to the battle scene, hearing mostly only her own heart beat throbbing in her ears. As she drew closer, her hand made its way up to clutch the pendant around her neck. She felt Spike leap down from her arms as she did this and saw him then running beside her out of the corner of her eye.

She closed her eyes a moment, breathing deeply and trying to calm herself. She knew that it would come to this. It always came to this, didn't it? Being forced back into what was hated or feared most? Yes, that's what happened.

Opening her eyes again, so not to run into anything, she picked up the pace a bit, wanting to just get this done and over with. Maybe this dragon could actually help her as well; maybe it would be strong enough to destroy her Senshi powers so that she didn't have to fight it. But for now, she did what she felt she must, ignoring the instinct that was telling her to run away and going right into the madness.

xxxxxxx

Mars, Mercury and Venus were thrown back by the dragon's counter attack. Each cried out in pain as their forms scraped across the ground and were tossed about like they were no more than a bag of clothing or something of that sort. As per usual, they were determined not to give up, aiming to protect the city from this dragon that was plaguing them.

"Come on guys, it's just one dragon! Why can't we take it down?" Mars growled vehemently, getting pissed off at this dragon constantly showing up and not really doing more than attacking a bit and then disappearing. Of course it was good that no one was getting seriously hurt, but it was still irking her all the same.

"The others are on their way, right, Mercury?" Venus asked, making her way to her feet and ignoring Mars' question.

"They said they're coming!" Mercury nodded, staring up at the dragon and trying to analyze it with her visor again. There was still no luck in getting any readings from it that would be helpful to them.

The dragon dove for them again, this time bringing some fire along with it to crisp them to nothing. They all readied to counter it, but the dragon seemed to be coming at them too fast for them to stop.

"Jupiter Thunderclap Zap!"

The attack crashed into the dragon's side, causing it to roar out and look over at its new opponents. Seeing them, its eyes flared an almost white colour, as if showing it's anger that it had been thwarted from attacking.

"First you burn two of us to a crisp and then now you want to burn us all. I won't stand for this, 'cause I'm-!" Sailor Moon began to shout out her standard, this is who I am and now I'm going to kick your ass speech, but she stopped, growing quite pale.

The dragon was now heading her way, and she found that she wasn't able to retaliate and attack. It was almost like it had some power over her to paralyze her on the spot. All of the Senshi shouted for her to move, but all she could do was scream.


	9. Chapter 08

**Forced**  
_Chapter 08_

Essa continued to run in the direction of the attacking. As she approached, the air around her seemed to gain in weight, but she ignored it to the best of her ability, concentrating only on what she had to do. This wasn't too difficult considering that she could feel the metal of the pendant heating up from the warmth of her flesh, though she wished that she was perhaps just imagining that it was there.

Her grey eyes flashed around her quickly, noting that no one else was around them. Those same eyes then went to look at her feline friend, who seemed to notice her gaze and looked up at her. She saw the concern on his feline features and she could only muster a pained grin in return.

"No going back now," she said, seeing him nod in agreement before looking back the way they were headed again. Essa, however, swiftly jerked on the chain, feeling the ever-repairable chain snap behind her neck. It would repair itself later, she knew that much. What was about to come though, she was almost entirely in the dark about it. Taking a deep breath, she spoke out the words softly, but as far as she was concerned they were echoing around her, ricocheting off of the buildings and stopped vehicles. "Star Power!" If anyone was watching from those buildings, she could be in trouble, but she had more important things to worry about.

After uttering these words, it felt like a jolt of electricity struck through her entire form and left a tingling. Her eyes clouded over with a silver light, but she kept running, knowing that if she stopped she wouldn't make it in time.

This jolt of electricity coursed through her limbs and she felt her clothes melting away to become the Senshi fuku of Sailor Star. She first felt the bodice envelop her torso, looking much like a white, one-piece bathing suit more than anything. The sailor-like scarf that hung around her neck and flapped over her back flared out over her shoulders, the grey material ruffling around in a nonexistent wind. The sound of boots hitting the ground met her ears and she even felt the legs of the boots slithering up her legs, stopping an inch or two above the knee. The gloves her fuku had felt similar as they appeared from literally nowhere. These slithered before stopping a few inches below her shoulder, but above the elbow. Across her forehead she felt the cool metal-like substance take its place. The tiara, unlike the other Senshi's was silver, rather than the gold-ish colour and it bore a darker grey, almost black star in the middle. A grey skirt cascaded down from her hips, the short garment ruffling around her like the scarf had in that nonexistent wind to complete the transformation. It had taken mere seconds, though it seemed to take longer.

The fuku felt foreign on her body again and for a moment she felt like she was dreaming. But she knew that she wasn't when the real world snapped back into her view. She knew that it wasn't when the sounds of that world invaded her ears again and she knew that it wasn't when she felt the ground beneath her feet.

She picked up her running pace a bit, feeling her Senshi powers really kicking in again and allowing her to move with more speed. It was as if this power had replaced her blood or had mixed with it at least. She couldn't understand it, didn't want to understand it, but it was still there nonetheless. She suppressed the memories that were threatening to flow back into her instantly too, just pressing on and finally coming to the scene.

"First you burn two of us to a crisp and then now you want to burn us all. I won't stand for this, 'cause I'm-!"

Sailor Star heard the distinct voice of a one Serena Tsukino, though currently as Sailor Moon and making her usual, do-gooder speech instead of just attacking the enemy. Her eyes widened at the sight of the dragon, especially when it turned to look in her direction. She couldn't be sure if the dragon was looking at her or whether it was looking at the Moon Senshi, but she knew either way that Sailor Moon would be caught in the crossfire.

Despite the shouts of the other Senshi, Sailor Star could tell that Sailor Moon wasn't about to move. They didn't seem to be exactly running to her aid either, except for a shorter, rose haired female that she didn't quite recognize. There was most certainly no time to stop and stare either, so she kept running and the leapt over the blonde Senshi's form and into the air.

"Star Shower Inferno!" she shouted out, all attention that wasn't already on her being drawn to her at that moment. Her hands glowed a bright silver before that silver lifted off of her hands and formed dagger-like shapes and flew towards the dragon. She was in the air pretty much right in front of the dragon as this happened and it seemed that that muffled screaming she heard on a normal basis had just turned up several decibels. "From the dragon?" she muttered, landing on the ground as it cried out from her attack slicing at its thick flesh. Yes, this dragon had flesh, not scales as per popular belief.

Her eyes watched it as it shook its head in confusion, knowing that it would probably attack again. She also heard Sailor Moon approaching her, potentially in greeting and in thanks for just saving her, but Star would have none of this. She looked over at the blonde and gave her a warning look that said not to approach and it seemed that this message passed on to the girl as she stopped dead in her tracks.

Sailor Star felt her standard weapon, an insanely long whip that could probably lengthen even more if she willed it too, fall into the grasp of her right hand. Her grip tightened around it, watching now as the dragon glared at her. It seemed to be assessing her as well, as if confused as to who she was. She flicked her wrist sharply to see what it would do, but its eyes never left her face. Not only did this send a sense of unease through her, but it ticked her off.

"You want to play, dragon?" Star snarled, challenging it and its reply was a loud roar. She didn't know exactly what that roar meant, but her interpretation was that it did indeed want to 'play'. Her arm lifted and drew back before flying forward once again. The whip did indeed elongate before wrapping around the dragon's neck. "Star Pain Be Gone!"

A course of silver electricity shot through the whip, crackling and sparking around the dragon's neck. It roared out again, probably more out of being irritated than in pain. It also felt as the other attacks from the other Senshi made their way over to pelt at its form as well, but it reared, much like a horse would, dragging the grey clad Senshi along with it.

Star made a noise of shock as she was dragged from her spot on the ground and thrown into a nearby building. As she felt the whip leave her hand, she saw it vanish into thin air. The force that she hit the wall of the building with wracked through her body and she gasped out from the windedness she suddenly felt. Once her form hit the ground she breathed heavily trying to get the air to return to her slightly shaking body.

"Essa!" Spike was suddenly at her side, standing beside her fallen form and nudging at her face with his own.

"I'm fine," she panted as she pushed her form off of the ground.

"Look out!" the voice of that smaller Senshi met her ears and she looked up.

The dragon was now standing over her, completely ignoring the other Senshi as if she was the star of the show. If one wanted to go into puns then, yes, she was the Star of the show, but she didn't want to be in the sense that all focus was on her. The dragon, however, brought its jaws down quickly to try and close around her, but before it was even within five feet of her a silver shield deflected it and even was powerful enough to throw the creature back to the point where it returned to the form of the mist and fell up into the sky again.

Sailor Star sat up onto her knees for a minute, just staring at her gloved hands as the sudden fear of realization washed over her. Whenever she was a Senshi, whether controlled by some evil or not, she killed. She couldn't help but wonder if she was going to kill again.

"Essa. It really is you," Sailor Moon's voice spoke from over her.

Sailor Star stared a moment before bringing herself to her feet, picking up her feline companion along with her. He made his way to perch on her shoulder, sitting otherwise in complete silence and scanning over the other Senshi. They appeared to be exactly the same, but there was another there that he didn't recognize.

"You're going to get killed one of these days," Star muttered, returning to her normal, human appearance; the pendant hung around her neck again, as if it'd never left. Her eyes also caught as the other Senshi tensed around the blonde and she could only grin sadly. She knew that they were wary of her; very wary. "You keep spouting off that ridiculous 'in the name of the Moon' crap instead of attacking and the enemy will kill you."

"How did you defeat that dragon?" the small child asked of her. Rini stared at this girl in both awe and curiousity. So this was the one that they'd been talking about before? Rini didn't think she seemed all that bad. Hell, she'd just saved them, didn't she?

"It's not a dragon. The dragon is just a form," Essa told her shortly. Of course this was just hearsay, but that boy seemed to know what he was talking about. It was at that point that her eyes scanned around them, wondering if said boy had followed, but she didn't see him anywhere.

"Then what is it?" Mars asked and when she saw Essa shrug she acquired a slightly irritated look. "Do you at least know why a dragon then?"

"Intimidation," Spike spoke now, seemingly startling Rini. She knew that she should have been expecting it, but it seemed foreign all the same.

"Intimidation?" chorused the Senshi in unison; even Tuxedo Mask asked it at the same time.

"If it took on the form of, say, a rabbit would you be frightened of it?" Essa asked, wondering at the same time how they couldn't understand that. As she stood there it seemed that the air pulsed around her and she had a feeling that it actually was too and that it wasn't just her imagination. It made her tense for she knew that something horrible was going to happen.

"You'll at least help us defeat it, right?" Serena, as she was now back in her regular clothing, asked carefully. For some reason she felt like she was treading on very unstable ground and that she needed to take care not to fall or be knocked off balance.

"I don't want to help do anything," Essa told them, beginning now to walk back in the direction of her hotel. She noticed that the people were starting to return to the streets again, peeking out of the buildings to see if it was safe. It seemed that they thought so, probably because they saw a rather large ground of teenagers standing in the middle of the street.

"Then why'd you even bother coming back, huh?" Rei shouted after her angrily. Her hands were firmly on her hips and she ignored Serena's disapproving look.

"I didn't have a choice." She just continued walking, not even looking back at them and disappearing into the crowd.

"Would you look at that? Won't help us. I bet she brought that dragon here herself," Rei snorted.

"Come on, Rei. Don't be so mean to her," Serena pleaded, looking to her fiery tempered friend.

"Well, I can see why she wouldn't want to fight with us," Lita added in, standing with her arms crossed over her chest and leaning slightly as if propped up against something.

"She should be forced to fight with us, considering all the trouble she caused before!" Rei insisted, causing several different looks to be thrown her way.

Rini looked to Rei with a certain amount of fear. How was it that this one girl could get Rei so worked up? Usually only the enemy got her that raring to fight; was Essa being treated as an enemy for some reason? She didn't get it and was set on finding out.

She noticed that all the older Senshi and her future parents were too immersed in their conversation and arguing about what they would do about Sailor Star. The pink haired child felt that this gave her an opportune chance to go do what she wanted and find Essa. She couldn't have gotten too far, right?

The young child broke away from the group, glancing back for the first few steps to make sure they didn't notice her actions. She knew they wouldn't approve, so she had to do this in secrecy, or else be scolded harshly for it more than likely. So away she crept as quietly and as unnoticeably as she could manage, which seemed to be enough because soon she found herself within the depths of the crowd that had come out of hiding.

As she headed in the direction that she was sure that the other Senshi had gone, she looked around the people in search for a person with a cat on their shoulder or someone with intensely white hair. She half wondered how old Essa really was because of this white hair. Didn't old people get white hair? Maybe Essa was some ancient being. Whatever the case, the child was set on finding her.

"Excuse me! Pardon me!" Rini spouted off every once in a while when she had to literally, as best as she could, shove people out of her way. A grin grew across her face when she saw Essa standing at a street crossing waiting for the light to change. "Hey! Essa!" she called out. She would have been more polite, but she couldn't exactly call out 'Sailor Star!' Yeah, that would go over well with the crowd.

The black and white cat that sat on the girl's should looked back at the young girl and told Essa who it was that had called her. Rini noticed that the cat did this in a way so that it looked natural, pretending only to be rubbing his face against the side of his owner's head. Rini was pretty sure that he was talking to her though, as Essa turned around to look at the child, regardless that the light had just changed.

Rini jogged over to Essa and looked up at her, suddenly unsure what to say at first. It would just be rude to come out and ask why everyone was all afraid of her, right? Maybe she didn't even know they were afraid of her, but somehow Rini figured that she knew. Yet instead, she just stood there with her mouth hung open in attempts to speak, but no words were coming out.

Essa sighed, "So, what's so important that you had to sneak off from the others after me? I highly doubt they'd approve of you talking to me, much less alone." She gingerly led them off to the side of the sidewalk, towards a building so that they'd be out of the way. Of course, they were probably still in the way to someone, but less in the way than they had been.

After being led away, Rini looked up at Essa again, glancing at the cat before looking back to the Senshi. "Um… I was just wondering…"

"Yes?" Essa encouraged when the pink haired girl stopped in mid-sentence.

"Why, why are they so afraid of you?" Rini said it bluntly, cringing slightly as she hated how forward that sounded. She couldn't help it though; it just came flying out of her mouth.

This earned another sigh from Essa as she crouched down to Rini's level. It wasn't that she was trying to be kinder to the child, she just didn't need anyone else hearing about this. She'd already run from this place once and while she was willing to do it again it just felt too soon.

"I don't see why they didn't tell you this, especially since you'd probably be safer if they had. I mean, I don't even know who you are, but they seem set on protecting you," Essa began, having noticed that all the Senshi were standing closer to the girl after she arrived than before they'd noticed her presence.

"You don't know who I am?" Rini questioned, since that seemed to be a first. Well, a second, including the first time that she'd returned to the past. She noticed that Essa shook her head. "I'm Rini, the future Moon Princess."

Essa blinked, seeing that Spike did as well from the corner of her eye. 'So this is the little Serenity?' She'd known of Serena and Darien's future child, she just had never seen her. She shook herself out of her reverie, looking back to Rini. "All the more reason they should have told you then. Look, you might not believe this, or even want to believe this, but I'm not like the others. No matter how hard I try I can't save people."

"But you just-" Rini tried, pointing vaguely back in the direction of the battle scene.

"No, Rini. I may have looked heroic, or even seemed it, but I'm not. Did they at least tell you about the Dark Senshi?" Essa asked and continued when the child nodded. "The others weren't purified or returned to normal or anything like that. Understand this and understand it well because it could save your life. No matter what I do, I've killed in the past and will probably kill again. The other Dark Senshi died at my hands, and others have, too. Your mother was almost one of them," Essa told her in a very low voice, watching carefully as those pinkish-red eyes widened in shock. 'And my mother _was_ one of them,' she neglected to add.

"That can't be true! You're not a Dark Senshi anymore!" Rini breathed out, trying so very hard to remain quiet.

"I didn't kill the others when I was a Dark Senshi." Essa's eyes dropped to the ground, the guilt welling up in huge amounts in her. She felt the despair surrounding her again and she half wished that the child hadn't even brought it up. But she also felt that now the future princess could be safe, while her own protectors had kept her in the dark.

Rini's mind was reeling, not wanting to believe any of this. Since when did Senshi kill? Since when did they even have the power to kill? She thought that their powers could only heal and make the world a better place, but this was much different. This was much worse and somehow she knew there was more to it than just Essa killing. Rini could tell from the look in those silver eyes that Essa never wanted to kill and that she didn't really have a choice. There was something more to it; definitely. And she now wanted to find out what that was.

"You should go back to the others now, before Rei comes over here and takes off my head and then yells at you," Essa smiled sadly. She knew that Rei would probably do just that too, considering her temper and the way she'd been acting before. She stood up and ruffled the girl's intricately held up hair slightly before turning and heading back towards the light. She saw that she'd have to wait again.

"No! There must be more you can tell me!" Rini called after her.

"There isn't. It's just as I said-" Essa turned around to look at Rini, only to notice that there was something going along the ground. All sense of what she'd been feeling left her instantly. Now her concern was on the child.

"Essa, since when do shadows move?" Spike piped up, heedless of those around them.

"They don't," Essa's look hardened. "Rini, quickly! Move!" she ordered, hoping that the girl would just comply.

"What?" she looked down, noting the swirls of black around her feet that were beginning to crawl up her legs. She screamed out, several others joining her when they saw the sight.

Spike leapt off of Essa's shoulder much quicker than the white haired girl would be able to move. He bearing his fangs and claws, knowing that it was probably futile to fight with a shadow, but he knew they had to do something. And maybe him as a distraction, too, would allow Essa to use her powers. He, however, found himself yowling out in horror as the mist began to engulf him as well. There was an eerie sense of familiarity with it too, as he found when it touched past his fur and to his flesh.

"Help!" Rini shouted out, but no one seemed to be moving, though she saw Essa reach out for her. Yet, when their hands should have met they just passed right through each other. Then Essa disappeared from her sight all together.

"Shit," Essa cursed harshly, looking to the spot where both Rini and Spike had just been and ignoring the cries of horror around her. Both had vanished right before her eyes, which rose up to fall on the Senshi that were now heading her way. "Double shit." She knew they'd seen that. She knew she'd be put to blame.


	10. Chapter 09

**Forced  
**_Chapter 09_

Rini's vision had gone completely dark after Essa disappeared from her sight. Now though, the darkness was beginning to dissipate and she could see again. As the darkness had consumed her, she'd felt the soft fur of the black and white feline against her skin and she'd felt his weight in the crook of her arms. When she'd felt that, she'd hugged him tight, as if he was her only hope. She didn't want to be alone in the darkness.

At the moment, her grip was lessening, but still present all the same. She wasn't about to let the cat go, for fear that they might be split up. He didn't seem to be making any effort to get away, so she wasn't worried that he even had the idea to get away from her. This caused her to calm, but only a little bit. The surroundings were too unfamiliar and too creepy to be calm.

Looking around her as the darkness lessened she could see nothing in way of another being or even an object. It was all just continuously vacant all around her. She couldn't understand what was going on; why she'd been brought here. Why had it even attacked her? Was it the dragon that did this? Too many questions, no answers.

"K-kitty…" Rini sputtered out, realizing that she didn't even know his name.

"My name is Spike," he told her gently, sensing her fear. He would have known it was there even if he couldn't feel her arms shaking around his form.

"Do you know where we are?" she asked slowly, making an effort not to stutter at all. Her voice quivered, but she managed to say all the words without being cut up by stuttering.

"No." He shook his head slightly as he peered around the best he could from her grasp. Even with his sharp cat eyes he couldn't see anything. It was just complete nothingness.

The future moon princess closed her eyes a moment and took in a deep, slow breath. As she released it, her form shuddered slightly, but she managed to control it so that it wasn't a wild shaking that she couldn't stop. When she opened her eyes again, she peered about in looking once again for some other form of life or indication of where they may be. Again, the results came up as nothing.

"Hello?" she called out with as loud a voice as she could muster. It seemed that her voice needn't have been too loud, however, as it echoed all around them. Perhaps they were in some sort of large canyon? A room? The fact that her voice echoed didn't help give her any answers.

Spike's ears perked, listening for any sound that the child may not hear but that he might pick up with his better hearing. He adjusted, shifting around to look up over her shoulder and also to hear what may or may not be over in that direction better. When he did this, he felt her grip tighten slightly, but she didn't pull him back down.

Rini looked to the cat when he returned to his spot in her grasp and saw him shake his head. Apparently, he hadn't heard anything either, which she couldn't decide whether she should be perturbed by it or comforted. She really felt a mixture of both, and the two feelings seemed to be fighting within her to win her attention.

Awkwardly, considering the creature in her arms, Rini managed to get to her feet. At first she just turned her head around, looking tentatively around in case something might attack her.

'Maybe I should transform,' she told herself silently. 'Who knows what could be hiding in the shadows here…' She found herself chewing her lip nervously, but stopped as soon as she noticed and scolded herself. 'No! I must be strong! Whatever's here, I can take it! I'm a Senshi after all, right?'

With this in mind and a new look of determination on her face, she went from standing idly to taking a step forward, which was perhaps a mistake. As soon as she did so, both she and the feline were cowering against each other. A great howl of wind as well as a loud howl of a roar had erupted around them. Rini couldn't help but scream and shrink to the floor once against. Curling up as small as she could, she didn't move, even moments after the wind and roar had passed.

Spike, on the other hand, found himself needing to move as soon as it had stopped. Sure, the loud roar had stopped, but he could still hear something. It was, however, intensely muffled from his place under the girl's form. Even as she attempted to cling to him as if her life depended on it, he wormed his way out of her grasp, all but his tail. She kept a good grip on his tail, which only caused him to sigh as he was forced to sit only a small ways away from her cowering form. He knew there was no use in trying to ask her to let go.

It didn't matter, for he could definitely hear the sound better now. Much better. So well in fact that he understood exactly what this voice was saying. What it was saying chilled him to the bone and the hair all over his form rose. He even had to suppress a hiss from escaping him; as if a hiss would help anyway.

"Star," the voice spoke out clearly, no longer sounding like a scream, or a roar of a dragon, or anything other than a voice speaking. The gender of the voice was indeterminable, though also irrelevant.

Spike's feline face contorted in confusion. What possibly could this… this… creature want with Essa? Assuming that that was what it meant when it referred to Star. What else could it be referring to, though? Of course… it could mean the zillions of stars that adorned the sky, but something told him that this just wasn't the case.

"Which star?"

Spike heard Rini suddenly ask this a moment later. He almost jumped, having forgotten momentarily that she was even there. He looked at the rose haired child, finding that her form was shaking, but her own expression was that of one who wanted to know something. It was like even though she was afraid, she just had to know what was going on and what whatever this creature was wanted. He found her courage, as slight as it may be, admirable.

The two waited for a response, and instead of one being vocalized, something began to form before them. Both watched tentatively as a greyish mist began to take form of a human being in front of them. This human, it became evident, was a Senshi; this came as little surprise. As they continued to watch, it became even more evident as to just which Senshi this was.

"That's her, isn't it?" Rini questioned aloud. It didn't look terribly like the Sailor Star she knew, considering the mist didn't take on quite enough detail with facial features and such, but she just knew. She also recognized the form from how it'd been at the shrine when the fire had gone out of control.

The feline could only gape, staring up at the form of the Senshi, noting her long flowing hair, mostly, but something else had taken a hold of his eye. Around the girl's neck seemed to be two thin lines spaced about an inch and a half apart from each other. His whole form was tense because of this, but the form only seemed to stand there and stare back at them with nonexistent eyes.

"Star," the voice spoke out again, as if answering the question where Spike had not.

"What do you want with her?" Rini found herself asking. Her voice escaped her mouth before she even realized it was her own that was posing the question. In her fear, she almost seemed to be having an outer body experience that she just couldn't explain.

A loud roar sounded through the air again, the response, whatever it was, becoming incoherent to them. Rini covered her ears and closed her eyes in attempts to block out the sound, but it was like it was in her head too. One reddish-pink eye opened slowly, allowing the girl to see the next form of the mist take shape.

Up beside the Senshi that she now believed was the Star that the others knew before, another form was taking its place. The mist sort of formed a walking figure, but the figure stopped when the form became complete. This figure was slightly taller than Star and somehow seemed more menacing. There were no such thin lines traced around her neck and the hair that draped down her back only reached to about her waist, falling just shy of it. Even though it was just mist, the presence of this being instilled fear within the child and she felt that she should shrink away or beg for her life.

A third joined the other two; this form seemed like perhaps the least imposing of the three. This Senshi's hair was clearly held up in a pony tail, but still seemed lengthy, like the others'. Rini noticed that the two lines that went across this tall Senshi's neck weren't as noticeable as the ones on Star's, however they were still present. She questioned why two of the three would have them and what their purpose was, but before she could ask, a sound beside her drew her attention.

Spike hissed now before resorting to just a low, but audible growl. He recognized these other two forms easily and had much hoped that he wouldn't see them again. Of course, he hadn't intended for such through means of them dying, but that was just how it'd worked out in the end.

"Who are they, Spike?" Rini asked quietly.

"The Dark Senshi, Sailor Star included," his voice still held the growl. His eyes were narrow, but he knew glaring and growling wouldn't make them go away. Whatever this force was wasn't going to give up that easily.

In each of the Dark Senshi's hand appeared their weapons. The most menacing of the three bore a staff, the least, what appeared to be a sword. And just as Rini had seen before, Star held a whip in her grasp. All looked ready to attack at any moment.

"Run!" Spike shouted suddenly urging the girl to move. Though they were mist, he knew they could hurt. The dragon, creature, whatever it was, was the one doing this, right? When it'd attacked by itself, it was solid, so what would make its projections any different? It seemed to him that Rini had determined the same thing as she began to run.

"Mini Moon Prism Power!" she shouted, quickly becoming enveloped in her Senshi uniform. She didn't know if this would help any, but she had to try. "Pink, Sugar Heart Attack!"

This attack seemed to do nothing though, as the three figures of Senshi just dodged it and continued straight for the girl and the cat. And damn, were they fast…

"Just keep going!" Spike told her sharply, not intending to scold but fearing that she wouldn't move otherwise. "You attacks won't work on them!"

Sailor Mini Moon shrieked as an attack came flying her way without warning from the staff weapon. She just barely managed to avoid being hit with it and decided that it would probably be best to keep running. But as she looked ahead, she saw that she wasn't really running towards anything. It almost appeared like she was running on the spot as the scenery didn't change and there was no end in sight. Fear gripped her even tighter now as she wondered if she'd even make it out of wherever they were alive…

xxxxxxx

"Rini!" Serena shouted in dismay whilst watching her future daughter disappear without a trace. As they came to a halt by Essa, Serena fell to her knees and began clawing at the ground as if that would bring the little girl back. She knew it wouldn't, but the young woman was at a loss as to what else to do.

"What'd you do to her?!" Lita, who was taller than Essa by at least two inches, tried to use her form to intimidate the white haired girl, but realized it wasn't working.

"I did nothing!" she snapped, glaring at the thunder Senshi angrily. 'Just as I thought,' she sneered silently. They were blaming her. Of course they would blame her. "Why would I send my cat away, too?!"

"To make us believe that this isn't your fault," Rei stepped in. "Or maybe he was trying to stop you. He does seem like the sensible of the two of you."

Essa resisted striking the girl at that moment. Oh no, it wouldn't have been a slap across the face. She would have outright punched Rei in the face, but it was in her better judgment to do nothing of the sort. That wouldn't get them to believe her any more.

"I don't care who did it! Just bring her back!" Serena ordered, her head bowed and eyes closed. Her hands rested as fists on the ground, even as Darien made to comfort her.

Essa stared hard at Serena. Of all people, she would have expecting her to be among the most accusing at the moment. This was Rini they were talking about; not just some stranger off the street. She wondered if maybe the blonde, meatball head was just too worried to event think of pointing a finger in blame. Her anger of being blamed by the others dissipated slightly as she felt pity for the Moon Princess. While Essa had been through a great deal, so had she. She wouldn't place them in the same boat of horrible happenings in life, but she could understand that what did happen to the Princess put stress on her.

Though the others seemed to be against her next actions, Essa continued anyway. She crouched before the Princess, though didn't touch her to get her attention. Her grey eyes softened in their expression and she noted that all the others were watching her as if she was some rabid animal.

"Serenity," Essa spoke formally, watching as Serena looked up at her with glassy eyes. "I don't know what happened to them, but I am going to try and get them back."

"What do you mean, try?" Rei demanded.

"Silence!" Essa ordered with a conviction that startled the others into submission. "I can't promise that I will, all things considered…" she trailed off for a moment. "But be damned if I don't try."

Serena watched her, studying her and finding her words to be true. As much as she wanted to hear that Rini's safety could be guaranteed, she just couldn't bring herself to demand it. She could only nod numbly before allowing herself to be helped to her feet.

"You can all stand there bitching about how it's my fault, or you can help me. The decision is yours," Essa snapped at the others. She saw them look to each other for reassurance in their decisions.

"I'm in," Ami was the first of the other five Senshi to speak.

"Me, too," Mina was next before the others just nodded their agreement.

"Good. For now, let's get out of here," Essa suggested, bringing back the reality that there were many, many people around them staring in wonder and curiosity.

And with that, the group of seven moved quickly to be out of the public eye. Of course those people didn't understand what was going on, but they couldn't understand what was going on. Part of secret identity was keeping the secret, right? So, while reporters and the likes began crowding around and taking eye witness reports, the six girls and the young man slipped away and out of the cameras' flashes.

The group began to make their way back to the traditional headquarters, more commonly known as the Hikawa Shrine. As they did so, three of the seven seemed to be constantly watching. Pairs of eyes, dark blue, green and grey, were watching around the group for any signs of danger, such as another attack from the misty dragon or whatever was thrown their way. It turned out that there was no need for this watching as they made it back to the shrine without incident. They were even able to slip past Rei's grandfather, though it probably helped that he was too distracted trying to hit on another young girl. While Rei would have normally instantly gone to scold the elderly man, she refrained from doing so and stayed with her friends.

They all seated themselves around the table, simply staring at each other for a long moment. It was as if they were all trying to determine if the evil one sat among them, and in truth a few of the Senshi were trying to determine just that. Of course their eyes fell to the girl who could transform into a grey-clad Senshi; was she to blame for what happened?

"So, how 'bout explaining just why Rini disappeared, huh?" Rei was the first of the bunch to speak, and though her way of wording this question wasn't ideal, everyone did want to know what happened.

With a sigh, Essa recounted the tale, not really keeping her focus on any of them in particular. She knew what they, or some of them at least, thought of her. She didn't need to look in their eyes to see the contempt and she didn't need special powers to sense the tension. Nope, it was all self-evident.

"As you can guess, she snuck away from you guys, somehow without your noticing," she paused a moment as it was her turn to thrown a look of disdain around. None of them said anything, some only looking away, but she continued on. "She came to ask about me. I believe her exact words were, 'why are they so afraid of you?' It wouldn't have hurt to tell the child, you know."

"We were just-" Mina began in their defence.

"You were just sheltering her from the truth. What good does that do? She found out anyway, didn't she? Keeping the truth from her won't protect her." Essa watched their reactions. "Regardless, I told her to return to you guys, but she's persistent. She wanted to know more, but before any more could be said, the shadows began to move."

"That dragon…" Ami wagered.

"Mhmm." Essa simply nodded. "Or whatever it is, in any case. Spike, my feline, for those of you who don't recall, tried to help her, but…"

"But both were taken, anyway," Darien supplied. He found no sense of her lying as she told this story, but what if she was just a really good liar? No matter who he wanted to blame, he knew Rini's safety must come first, though.

Silence.

"Well, what are we going to do to get them back?" Lita asked, breaking this silence.

"More like what can we do to get them back? Who knows where they are," Ami brought up the inevitable. "They could be in the future for all we know. Or in some strange dimension."

"We can't just sit here," Serena piped up for the first time in a while. "We can't just sit here while that evil does who knows what to Rini and Spike."

"True, you girls never have been the type to just sit around and wait for things to happen."

Out of nowhere, or so it seemed, Luna and Artemis made their entrance. The black as well as the white feline jumped up on the table and sat in the middle of their charges, as well as Essa.

"You guys have any brilliant ideas?" Mina asked as she gave them an 'I've got nothing' look.

"Go back to where it happened and see if you can find anything there. Of course at night so that you won't be seen," Artemis spoke. He saw their eyes light up; apparently they liked his idea. Of course he couldn't help but grin at this aspect.

"But there'll probably be tons of police there. When people go missing, they don't just go 'oh well' and walk away." Essa perhaps knew this better than any of them, since she'd been listed as a missing person for quite some time. When they'd actually rediscovered her, it was hard to get them to leave her alone.

"She's probably right," Luna nodded. "I don't think there'll be tons, but there'll be at least one. That's why we have a plan to get around that, too." Luna joined Artemis in grinning, and they looked to each other with a nod. The two had been sitting off in the corner and listening to their conversation whilst they derived a plan. This plan, they were sure, would work.

"Enlighten us," Ami urged, very curious to know what brilliance the felines came up with this time.

Artemis was the one to speak this time, "It's like this…"


	11. Chapter 10

**Forced  
**_Chapter 10_

"So, you think you can handle this, Serena?" Rei asked as the group stood hidden in the shadows, though in sight of the place where Rini and Spike had disappeared.

Unlike it had been, the street was quiet now. There weren't people surrounded around the area to the point where they couldn't even see anything else and there didn't appear to be any reporters at the moment. Hopefully there wouldn't be any, either.

"Of course I can handle it," Serena said sternly, putting on a tough face as if to prove her point. On the inside, she was nervous as hell.

And with good reason. Impersonating a police officer wasn't quite the lawful act, and what if they saw through her disguise? What if they could tell that she was just a teenager? She'd never doubted the power of disguise that the pen gave her before, but right now she felt a little shaky.

They all stood and watched the small group of officers that were guarding the scene for a moment before looking to each other. They couldn't really see each other in perfect detail, but the outlines were enough to tell who was who.

"Doesn't look like this'll be too difficult…" Serena thought out loud.

"You never know, especially with you," Rei piped up.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"Girls, everything will be fine," Luna's voice told them. "You've done this dozens of times, Serena. You can fool these police officers, too."

"Right." Serena took out the transformation pen that would disguise her. She held it above her head and commanded, "Make me into a high ranking police officer!"

All of them briefly saw a light flash around her, but the rest of the transformation was hidden by the darkness. Essa's eyes flashed quickly over to the officers, wondering if they'd seen something. Her heart began to race as it seemed one of them had and was now telling his fellow officers that something was amiss. The others seemed sceptical to believe their comrade, but considering the situation, they weren't about to take chances. Two of the group began to approach.

"How to I look?" Serena asked, trying to see herself, but the shadows were too thick.

"We're about to find out," Essa whispered and the others looked to her. "We're about to get some company. I suggest we leave."

"What! You can't leave me here!"

"Serena, that's the point! You trick them, we get to go find Rini," Lita reiterated the plan to her.

"But-" Serena began.

"Who's there?" one of the two male officers that approached their hiding place asked. He shone a flashlight in the direction the group had been standing, but only one person stood there. "Who are you?"

"I'm Lieutenant Sawai," Serena told him, surprised to find that she was suddenly quick on her feet with the responses.

The two officers instantly bowed to her and she let out a quiet sigh of relief. Apparently they'd fallen for it and now thought she was a higher ranking office. So far, so good.

"I'm here to take a look at the scene where the girl disappeared. I'd like some privacy while I do it, too. So you officers can go have a break for now," she told them, hoping they would fall for it. Something told her even if they doubted her they weren't about to disobey a higher ranking officer.

"Yes, ma'am," the two officers spoke as one, both also having looks of confusion.

They walked swiftly over to the others and Serena followed them at her own pace. She tried to present herself as a high ranking officer as she walked by them, each giving a slight bow as they went off for their break. She knew they would become suspicious if they had an actual higher ranking officer to speak to, so as soon as they were gone, she looked back to the shadows to search for her friends. Carefully, the five girls, two cats and Darien emerged from the shadow and followed Serena to the scene.

"See, told you I'd be fine," Serena told Rei.

"I'm surprised they fell for that," Essa told them as she climbed over the wooden horses that boxed in the area where Rini and Spike had disappeared. She touched the rough concrete, as if expecting to find that the shadow would just form from the sidewalk again and suck her in, too. No such luck.

"Who knows how long they'll fall for it, though?" Ami pointed out, even though the others had already thought of it. "We need to work quickly here."

"Yeah, so let's get to it," Mina nodded, about to pull out her henshin pen.

"It won't be that easy," another voice that all but one didn't recognize came from to their left.

Essa's grey eyes immediately snapped up from the ground and fell upon the figure she knew would be there. Her own light eyes met the equally light coloured eyes of the nameless boy who'd so far caused her nothing but trouble. She stood, her eyes never leaving his face as she did. A slight glower clouded her eyes.

"Who are you?" Darien demanded, confused by this guy's presence and finding it insanely odd that he didn't seem to be paying any more attention to the rest of them. The look on Essa's face didn't bode well either.

"My name's Kanaye," he told them, finally looking away from the glowering girl to the rest of them.

"What'd you mean it won't be that easy?" Mina demanded to know, placing her hands on her hips. "Do you have any idea who you're talking to, mister?"

"You think just because you're Sailor Senshi that you'll just be able to walk right in there and take the girl and the cat back? You do remember how hard it was to defeat the Dark Senshi, right?" He gave them all a look that appeared sarcastic and was asking if they were stupid. This did not receive a positive response.

"Maybe you didn't get the memo there, _Kanaye_, but the Dark Senshi are dead." Essa returned his expression. He thought they were stupid? What about him? "I think I would know."

His expression changed to one of questioning. While he was aware that the Dark Senshi were dead, he felt there was a certain gravity in her final statement that he didn't understand. It seemed to be more than just the fact that they were her friends that she would know. But what was it?

"Maybe the Dark Senshi weren't as easy to get rid of as you thought," he finally decided to say.

"Wait, what?" Rei's face fell and then contorted into one of horror. "They're still alive?"

"I didn't say that," he said. "And if you want to get technical, then one _is_ still alive. Unless there's something we don't know about you, Essa."

"But she's not a Dark Senshi anymore," Serena insisted.

"I'd like to know where you're getting all this information, pal," Lita suddenly said, standing there with her arms crossed. Something wasn't right about this guy; she knew it.

"That is a good question," Ami agreed with a nod. She'd have loved to get a reading on him with her scanner, but knew that she couldn't just take it out and then expect the guy to just sit there and let her do it. Especially if he had something to hide.

"I have my sources."

"Well, why don't you take your sources and get the hell out of here," Essa snapped. "We've got things to take care of. People to rescue, you know? Standard 'save the world' stuff."

"You still don't hear it, do you, Essa?" His attention fell solely to her again. Her perplexed expression caused him to worry. If she didn't know what he was talking about by now, then they were in trouble.

"What's he talking about?" Darien asked, his eyes going back and forth between the white haired girl and the strange male.

"What is it?" Essa questioned simply.

"You hear it?" Kanaye looked surprised.

"I did." She recalled when she'd faced the dragon she heard something, but now there was nothing but the night sounds and them speaking. Nothing more, nothing less.

"I don't know what it is. But it never stops."

"It did for me."

"Which is odd."

"Why?"

"Hold on a minute," Rei interjected, tired of being ignored. "One, I don't know who the hell you are, but I suggest you beat it, unless you can think of some way you'd be useful to us. Two, those cops will probably come back any minute and we'll be in trouble when they do. I suggest we get a move on."

"Rei's right," Mina agreed.

"If you two want to chit chat, go do it on your own time. You said it yourself, Essa. We've got people to rescue," Rei added. Her henshin pen was suddenly in her hand. "Mars star power!"

"Venus star power!"

"Jupiter star power!"

"Mercury star power!"

"Moon crystal power!"

Essa and Kanaye watched as the other Senshi and Darien transformed into their respected super hero forms. Essa took grasp of her own transformation pendant and suddenly hesitated. Something didn't feel right. Pushing past it, she ignored it and pulled her pendant sharply from around her neck. The chain snapped and dangled around her clutched fist.

"Joining them?" Kanaye asked, watching as all the other Senshi now stood, waiting for Essa to make their move. It was almost like he was treating them like background figures that couldn't hear him.

"Of course." She gave him a puzzled look. What did he care?

"Then what the hell are you waiting for? New years?" Sailor Mars demanded, looking irritated.

"Star power!"

In seconds, Essa was clad in her own Senshi uniform. Her gaze returned to where Kanaye had been standing and saw no one there. Her eyes narrowed and she scrutinized. This guy was weird, too weird for comfort.

"Who the hell was that?" Sailor Mars asked, suddenly up in Sailor Star's face. "A pal of yours?"

"No. I don't know who he is. He just showed up at my house one day and gave my pendant back," Star met her glare, not afraid to oppose the fire Senshi.

"And then you came back here and all this mess started again," Mars snapped.

"Mars, leave her alone," Tuxedo Mask told her, sensing Sailor Moon's discomfort. Though he didn't full trust Sailor Star yet, he knew Sailor Moon had faith in her still and thought of her as a friend. He also knew that Sailor Moon didn't like seeing her friends fight, or anyone fight for that matter. "We need to hurry."

"He's right. They're still a little bit away, but those officers are returning, and they're running," Mercury told them, looking through her visor and seeing the cops coming from a distance.

"Then let's do this!" Jupiter urged, making a confident fist and her friends nodded in agreement.

"I think it'll be safer if we stay here," Artemis told them. "Besides, we can see if we can track down that Kanaye guy and get information on him."

"All right, just be careful," Venus nodded her approval. The black and the white feline raced off into the night.

The five Senshi stood around Tuxedo Mask and the former Dark Senshi, all now focusing their powers. Each girl glowed the colour of their powers. Jupiter, green; Mars, red; Mercury, blue; Venus, golden-yellow and Sailor Moon a bright pink. The two in the middle focused on staying with their comrades. They didn't want to get lost in some dimension that they'd have no idea of how to get out of. Who knew if they were even going to some dimension? Maybe it was some other planet, or some evil universe, like the Negaverse. None of them thought of this though, only concerned with retrieving their friends.

"Sailor Planet Teleport!" the ring of girls suddenly commanded and in a flash of light they were gone.

The police charging towards the scene saw the light, though not the ones who'd caused it. When they stopped and saw that there was no one there, not even the other 'officer', they scratched their heads in confusion. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary and it appeared to be exactly as they had left it. Were they going crazy?

"Where are you guys?" Sailor Venus' voice asked in the darkness that now surrounded them. It was so thick that none of them could see a thing.

"I'm here," Jupiter's voice responded.

"Me, too," called Mercury's.

"Yeah," Sailor Moon nodded, though none of them could see it.

"We just have to let our eyes get used to the dark," they heard Sailor Star say.

"But how long is that going to take, hmm?" Mars asked the grey-clad Senshi even though she couldn't see her. She just followed the sound of her voice and looked in the direction she thought she was. "I don't like this place. There's a very negative vibe."

"I know what you mean. Even I can feel it," Venus told her comrades as she rubbed her arms as if to ward off a sudden chill.

"You getting any readings, Mercury?" Tuxedo Mask's voice came from the darkness.

"I've been trying, but I'm not getting anything. It's too dense," Mercury watched as the words flashed across the screen of her visor, but it was almost to dark to even make those out. "Wherever we are, we're going to have to figure it out on our own."

"Wonderful," Mars snorted. She wasn't so much being rude to Mercury, but to the idea that they were in the dark, literally.

"Hey, I think I can see a bit now," Sailor Moon exclaimed suddenly. It was true, too. Her vision was beginning to pierce through the darkness… or maybe the darkness was lessening?

"Me, too. I think we should get a move on now if we can all see," Jupiter suggested.

Sailor Star heard them all agree with Jupiter's idea, but suddenly heard something. Something faintly in the air that she could barely make out. The white haired Senshi had no idea what it was, but suddenly felt the negative vibes that Mars had been feeling coming at her in waves. She looked around, but saw nothing but the darkness. When her eyes came to rest on the others, they were giving her an odd look, as if they'd been speaking to her and she hadn't answered.

"What is it?" Sailor Moon asked, noting the look on her face and about to take a step forward and consult her about it.

"Don't move!" Sailor Star shouted even though she knew it was far too late.

The group was suddenly accosted with a great howl of wind. They screamed, not wanting to move, but being pushed by the wind just the same. They clung to the people nearest to them, bracing themselves against the wind and the sudden roar that came with it.

"The dragon!" Venus shouted, knowing that roar anywhere.

Just as soon as it had started, it stopped though. The wind vanished as if it had not existed at all and the roar quieted down to a quiet murmur. They all looked to each other and wordlessly made sure they were all all right. Jupiter looked to Star when she was certain her friends were safe.

"How did-" she began.

"Shh!" Star snapped, holding up a gloved hand to silence the girl. While Jupiter's face acquired an irritated look, she did silence herself.

Star looked at the nothingness around them, trying to focus on nothing but the voice she suddenly heard. It was that voice again, the one that Kanaye had been referring to, but it was too far away to hear. Too distant to make out. It sounded like nothing but a mumble, as if someone had the volume turned down too low on the television set. She recalled that she'd heard it pretty much non-stop when she first came, but had been blocking it out more. Now it was all around her again and she knew she couldn't block it out. She might as well try to figure out what it was saying then.

"I can't make it out," she told them after a minute, looking to them to see if they could. They all just shook their heads at her silent question.

Looking now at the ground, though it didn't appear to be ground considering how much darkness was around them, she took a cautious step. She heard their protests, but ignored them. This time, nothing happened. She didn't understand why, though maybe it was because whatever it was that was there knew there were intruders now. She looked back to the others and shrugged, taking another, less cautious step. They followed suit.

"So, where are we going, exactly?" Venus asked no one in particular.

"I don't think we can't exactly pick a direction," Tuxedo Mask answered, finding the same thing as Star. They were complete surrounded by darkness, even if they could see better in it now. Who knew which way they were going? Maybe they were headed up, maybe down. Maybe they were actually upside down and they just couldn't tell. Maybe they were going to wander in circles. The more he thought about it, the less promising finding his future daughter and the feline seemed to be.

"We'll find them," Sailor Moon said forcefully. "We have to find them."

"Yeah, but-" Mercury began to speak.

"Shh," Star ordered again. All fell silent, except for one.

"I'd really like to know who died and made you leader," Mars grumbled, sensing the need for silence, but needing to voice her irritation as well.

"It's getting louder," Jupiter said, looking around them. But the noise seemed to be coming from all around them.

"And I hear footsteps," Venus added.

Mercury tried looking through her visor again. "Still nothing."

"Funny, nothing's headed this way." Star began to see the form of something running in their direction.

"Is it Rini? Or Spike?" Sailor Moon asked, squinting to catch a good glimpse of the form.

"Looks to me like it's too big to be either of them," Jupiter said.

"Yeah, I agree. It looks like someone or something that could pass as our age," Mars said. "And therefore, I don't think we need to worry about it getting hurt. Mars Celestial Fire Surround!"

The other Senshi followed suit, launching their array of attacks at the oncoming figure. All of them were shocked to find that the figure was easily dodging the attacks. This figure just moved so quickly, so surely, like it knew exactly how to deal with them.

"Something tells me we've faced this enemy before," Mars said, taking a step backwards.

"Yeah, just by the way it knows what's going at it and it doesn't appear afraid at all." Venus tried desperately to think of something they could do.

"Unless we've got some new pigheaded enemy on our hands," Jupiter reminded them.

"Not like we haven't faced that kind before," Mercury agreed.

Sailor Star said nothing, simply listening to their shaking voices and watching as the being came closer. Something wasn't sitting right with her and she felt all squeamish. It was like she had to run away, but knew she couldn't. There was no running from this. No running…

"Something is very wrong here," she breathed out suddenly. The other Senshi and Tuxedo Mask looked to her.

"Like what?" the only male of their group asked.

Before she could respond, Star felt darkness wrap around her, though in a very familiar form. A whip bound her arms to her side and though she struggled she couldn't even begin to move them. The whip was too taught for her to pull away from the oncoming form and her eyes widened in immense fear and a sudden knowing of what, or who rather, was accosting them at this moment.

"Star!" Sailor Moon called out and tried to run to help her friend.

"Stay back!" Star shouted in return and heard as Sailor Moon began to struggle against those restraining her, probably Tuxedo Max. Her focus was only on the figure that was pretty much right before her now.

"Holy shi-" she began to say, but was cut off by the loudest of all roars they'd heard so far.

It said, "STAR!"


	12. Chapter 11

**Forced  
**_Chapter 11_

While the others covered their ears because of the loud roar, Sailor Star couldn't. Her arms were bound to her sides, so all she could do was cringe and listen to it as well as the others suddenly screaming. She grit her teeth to prevent her own voice from escaping in a wail and she shut her eyes, like that would help to prevent the sounds.

The white haired Senshi suddenly felt her head being jerked back to its normal level. She saw when she opened her eyes that it was a hand that did this, but it didn't feel like a hand at all. She couldn't quite describe just what it felt like, but certainly not a human hand, which made sense because the way she saw it, that being definitely wasn't human.

The mist, it seemed, had taken a new form. Though she couldn't see the being's face in exact detail, she knew the weapon it used; she knew the shape of the face and its contours. It was her, though as she had been. She saw before her the mist in the form of the Dark Senshi, Sailor Star. The thought was terrifying.

Very suddenly, she felt pain surging through her. She could hear the power crackling across the whip and could very well feel it coursing through her body. She couldn't help now but scream as it was unbearable. It was suddenly evident to her what it had felt like for Serena and all the others she'd attacked years back. She'd regretted it before, and regretted it more now that she was experiencing it.

With what strength she could muster, she attacked. She couldn't say the words that went along with it, but was able to summon the power of her Shower Inferno and launch it at her attacker. Even with her arms bound at her sides, her hands were free to move a bit; just enough to attack.

The dark Star leapt backwards very quickly, avoiding the attack, but the whip still remained. The attack still coursed through it. The pain continued.

"Moon Princess Halation!"

Again, the dark Star dodged, but this time the whip went with it. Sailor Star collapsed to the ground on her hands and knees, shaking slightly from the shock.

"Are you all right?" Sailor Moon, followed by the others, rushed over. The moon Senshi crouched down, trying to catch a glimpse of the girl's face, but a white curtain of hair blocked any chance of that.

Star pushed herself up, making herself stand up properly even though her legs were still shaking. She wasn't injured too terribly, but she could still feel the shocks going through her. She wondered if it was because it was her own powers, so in a way it was reacting to the power within her. Maybe she was way off.

Sailor Moon stood up as well, watching Star and wondering what was going through her head. She could see the girl's expression was pensive, however didn't know why. Perhaps she was wondering the same thing that she was.

"How does that thing have your powers, Star?" Jupiter asked. Apparently others were on the same train of thought as Sailor Moon.

Star only shook her head to signal that she didn't know. While she was trying to figure that out, she was more concerned with steadying herself at the moment. Gradually, the teen was able to get her legs to stop shaking. Disregarding the others for the moment, she prepared to attack again.

The grey whip's weight fell into her hand. She opened her hand slightly, still hanging onto the handle but allowing the length of it to fall to the ground. Her eyes watched the other, who seemed to be watching her. She knew she'd have to act quickly.

"Hey, what're you-?" Tuxedo Mask asked as Star suddenly leapt forward.

Star leapt, landing close to her dark form yet still far enough away. Her hand drew back before flinging forward with the whip in tow, which began crackling in the same type of power that the other's whip had.

"Star Pain Be Gone!" she shouted. If the other had shouted out the attack before, it would have been 'Star Pain', rather than what she'd just said. She recalled the attack well.

The whip flew forward, beginning to wrap around the dark Star's misty, yet somewhat solidified, form. For a moment the Senshi appeared bound and Star began yelling her next attack, but the somewhat solidified mist became regular mist and evaded the binding as well as the other attack. Star only stood in a bit of a stupor as her whip fell slack on the ground. She hadn't been expecting that.

"How are we supposed to beat this thing if it can do that?" Venus demanded, pointing needlessly.

"I don't know!" Mercury was working wildly on her mini-computer, trying to figure out something to do, however with no result.

"Maybe if we all attack it together?" Mars suggested. Everyone else agreed with a nod. "Let's do it then! Mars Celestial Fire Surround!"

"Venus Love Chain Encircle!"

"Shine Aqua Illusion!"

"Jupiter Thunderclap Zap!"

"Moon Princess Halation!"

"Star Shower Inferno!"

The six attacks, as well as a wordless attack made by Tuxedo Mask, launched and flew at the misty form of the dark Senshi. Again, a dodge was made, though they could have sworn that it'd just barely dodged.

"I have another idea," Mars said after witnessing the failed group attack.

"Go for it," Mercury encouraged.

"All right. Get ready to attack. I call upon the power of Mars… Fireballs… CHARGE!" Mars launched this attack to bind their opponent.

The others launched their attacks again without hesitation. Who knew if the dark Star would be able to dodge Mars' binding attack as well? Their attacks collided, exploding when they hit; it was just question as to whether the attacks has hit their target.

The smoke cleared and it looked like the attacks had had some effect. They'd hit at the very least and the Senshi seemed stunned, but then quicker than before, it rushed forward. The group gasped, taking involuntary steps backward.

"Any more brilliant plans, Mars?" Venus looked to the fire Senshi with pleading eyes.

"Let's do it again! Mars Fireballs Charge!" She launched the same binding, and again it seemed to work. "Mars Celestial Fire Surround!" She tried adding her attack this time as well.

"Star Pain Be Gone!" Star's whip flew to add to the binding. "Star Shower Inferno!"

The remaining five followed suit and watched as the same result occurred when their attacks collided and hit the target. The explosion was larger this time considering the two extra attacks; they just hoped that would be enough to make a difference.

Star felt her whip go slack again. "Guys…" she grabbed their attention and they all tensed when they saw the same thing she did.

"This is not good," Sailor Moon muttered. She was panicking beyond reason, but was still trying to hold it together. 'How are we supposed to find Rini if we can't even get past this?'

"No kidding, Sailor Moon," Mars couldn't help but say.

"We can't give up!" Star shouted, almost seeming out of character to them. They stared in shock as she leapt forward towards the oncoming being again.

The whip vanished from her hand, but she could easily summon it later if she really needed to. Instead, her hands were glowing a bright sliver and by the time she reached the mist of her other form, she'd shouted out the command to launch it. The silver light surrounded the two figures.

"Star!" Sailor Moon shouted in concern.

Inside the silver light, Star found herself face to face with her dark form. There were still details lacking and it didn't look human, but like before she was still well aware who it was supposed to be at least. Neither were truly attacking each other. Star was trying to, considering that she thought the close range would help in eliminating the other, yet her powers seemed to be stuck. It felt like a hose that someone had put a kink in. Until that kink was gone, it would just build up.

The other raised a gloved hand to once again take control of Star's face. The teen tried to swat it away, but her hand passed right through the mist, which only seemed to intensify whatever it was the dark Star was doing.

She looked at her own arms, seeing now that the dark mist was crawling up around her, like it had done with Rini. She couldn't possibly be sucked away though, could she? She was already in this place, so where else would it want to send her?

"Star…" she heard the voice again. It had gone back to being a dull murmur after the roar, but none of them had really noticed in their panic. It was clear as a bell now, however.

"W-what are you? What do you want?" she asked tentatively. Her voice sounded strained.

There was no response. The mist simply continued to encircle her and it felt as if she was suddenly in a freezer. Goosebumps rose up on her flesh and she began shivering, but no matter what she tried she couldn't get the coldness or the mist to go away. She closed her eyes, and then wished she hadn't.

Blood, on her hands. Her fault. Her fault they were dead. She knew it and couldn't escape it. She saw before her closed eyes her deed of killing her fellow Dark Senshi. Nope, she hadn't just allowed them to be healed, but killed them. She was a murder. A murder and what was worse was that they weren't the first pair she'd killed. It hadn't been of her own volition, but her parents and brother were dead. Her fault. She was still the one who'd struck and drawn blood.

"Stop it!" she ordered, suddenly hearing their screams as well. She cowered, placing her hands over her ears and opening her eyes to try and make the images go away, but they remained. "STOP IT!" They wouldn't go away.

She suddenly grasped at her neck, feeling that black band around it again the Sailor Universe, the leader of the Dark Senshi, had used to control her. Her hands felt nothing there, but yet she could still feel it otherwise.

"No!"

The image of her whip strangling her brother came to her mind. She'd killed him first. They'd _made_ her kill him first. No, she would have never killed him of her own will; she loved her brother. Star collapsed to her knees as they went weak at the sight of her snapping his neck with her weapon.

"Raye." Tears began to flood her eyes as she spoke her brother's name.

She now saw her whip strangling her parents before she cut their throats with Sailor Space's golden sword to ensure their death. She cried out at the sight of the blood now, trying to avert her eyes from her past deeds. They still wouldn't go away.

She heard their laughing voices. Universe and Space had only laughed when she'd done this. They thought it was funny that she'd killed her parents.

"It's not funny, damn it!" Star yelled at no one for there was no one there to hear her.

The Senshi suddenly saw her final battle between the Dark Senshi and herself. She shuddered at the look on her face, remembering the thoughts in her mind. She'd killed them of her own will. Couldn't just heal them, or allow Sailor Moon to; at least those were her thoughts. She killed Space first, the same way that she'd killed her parents. No one had made her do it, she just did it. Revenge.

Universe's turn. She heard herself from the image say "Star Imitation", an attack that allowed her to imitate anything. In this case, she'd placed her hand to her shoulder, where she'd been shot with a human weapon. Though the bullet had since been taken out, her powers formed into the shape of a new bullet, which she'd used against Universe. Universe retaliated, though in pain, yet the attack hadn't much effect on Star then. To end it, Star had combined her main attacks. "Star Pain Darkness Inferno" had been uttered, after which Universe was defeated.

The dead forms of the Dark Senshi had mysteriously vanished, leaving their murderer to suffer now the emotional pain caused by what she'd done.

The difference between the five murders? When she'd killed her family, Sailor Star had been under Universe's control as a Dark Senshi. When she'd killed Universe and Space, she was just a regular Senshi. She'd been too weak to prevent Universe's control, and even too weak to prevent herself from killing it seemed.

Sailor Star gripped her chest, her breathing becoming ragged from the crying fit she'd been thrown into from re-witnessing all that again. Her whole body was shaking terribly and she didn't even attempt to stop it. She'd completely forgotten about the mist form of her former dark self in all of this. She just wanted it all to go away. She didn't care how, but she wanted to forget.

She opened her bleary eyes, looking to see if the mist was still there. She could see it still crawling around her, but it had lost its form.

"Stop it."

It continued. She began fiercely brushing at her limbs and at the ground, trying to be rid of it.

"Stop it! STOP IT!"

The kink in the hose suddenly released, and her powers flew out around her. The silver light flooded harmlessly around her, as if it was merely water. The darkness of that place all of them had been brought to was suddenly around her again and though she didn't want the others to see, she couldn't stop her crying.

"Star!"

They'd all shouted it, but Sailor Moon was the first to rush over to her crumpled form. She stared perplexed at the sobbing girl; she didn't know what the hell had happened, but felt intense sympathy.

"What happened?" Mars dared ask, hoping that the girl wouldn't scream at her.

Star only shook her head, wiping her eyes and trying to get her form to stop shaking. She still felt cold. The others all looked to each other with confusion. They all silently tried to determine what had happened, but none could think of anything. While they perhaps still didn't trust her entirely or even remotely, like Sailor Moon did, they still didn't want to see her in pain.

Sailor Moon jumped slightly as Star tried to get up. Because she could see how shaky the other girl was, Sailor Moon helped her up the best she could. She didn't know what to say; didn't know what words to offer for comfort.

"What is it?" Sailor Moon asked gently as Star raised one hand to her neck.

She didn't respond, only concerned with ensuring that there was nothing there. The feeling of the band was gone and she still felt nothing with her fingers, so she let it go. She politely shrugged off Sailor Moon's help, taking a step forward.

"Wait a minute! What are you doing now?" Venus asked.

"I'm doing what we came here to do." Star's voice sounded thick, probably from the crying.

They all stood watching her for a moment, before looking to each other.

"Let's go," Tuxedo Mask nodded and he and the others followed after her before falling in step beside her.

They walked forward, though once again maybe they weren't moving forward at all. Maybe they weren't moving. Maybe they only thought they were moving. It was difficult to tell anything in the darkness and though their eyes had adjusted, it was still just too dark to tell what was around them.

The voice had disappeared for the time being, but each of them wagered that it would return without fail. They all kept an eye out for the mist dark Senshi or any other Senshi or others for that matter. At the rate they were going, it was very likely they would never find Spike and Rini, assuming that the two were still together.

As they continued, Star's form stopped shaking. She couldn't be rid of the thoughts though. The images of what she'd done just wouldn't go away, but at least the sounds had left her alone now. She'd known this was going to happen. The moment that that Kanaye had shown up in her house in Russia, she'd known that it was all going to go downhill. She'd been desperately trying to avoid it, but it had gotten to her anyway. Some vacation this was.

The other Senshi spoke amongst themselves, making speculations as to how big this place was and how long this would take. Did the place go on forever? Was this some different universe? How long had they been there anyway?

"My computer's still kaput. It's like it has crashed or something." Mercury gave up and put the device away. She'd probably try again later, though maybe it wasn't even worth it.

"I'm sure we'll come across something else soon," Jupiter said. "Whatever that something else might be."

"I hope that something else is at least beatable," Sailor Moon thought aloud.

"Whatever it is, we'll just have to find a way to beat it," Tuxedo Mask told them.

"Yeah, he's right," Mars agreed with a nod. "No one ever said this was going to be easy."

"Is it ever easy?" Jupiter chuckled lightly and shook her head.

"She has a very good point." Venus managed a grin.

The talking stopped, the movement stopped. The group looked around them, now hearing that voice again.

"Oh no."

"Not again."

Star's eyes were frantic as she peered around them. She was hoping against hope that her dark form hadn't returned and she saw nothing that would give her indication of this. She was still tense, regardless that she could see it. The cold seemed to intensify around her and she could tell no one else could feel it. She didn't bring it up.

"What now?" Mars demanded.

"We're probably about to find out," said Star.

"I hear footsteps." Venus leaned forward a bit and cupped a hand to her ear, hoping that it would give more volume to the noise.

"Me, too," Sailor Moon acknowledged before partaking in the same action. The footsteps didn't seem to be getting any closer. "We have to follow them. It might be Rini and Spike."

"Let's go then."

Mars headed off the group as they began to run towards the sound of the footsteps. The closer they got, the more the other footsteps sounded like running. Or maybe they were just confusing their own running steps with those they'd heard earlier.

They ran for what felt like forever, which of course led them to growing tired.

"We have to keep moving," Sailor Moon insisted, even though she was probably the one who was panting the most.

They didn't stop, continuing to push themselves though it felt like their muscles were burning. None of them knew how much longer they'd be able to keep this up. None of them could even tell if they were headed in the right direction anymore for the footsteps had stopped. They were simply continuing straight and hoping that doing so wasn't getting them hopelessly lost and turning them in circles.

"I have to stop," Venus wheezed out, placing her hands on her knees to steady herself as she took deep breathes. "There's no way I can run anymore."

The rest were doing the same thing, their chests rising and falling very quickly except for every once in a while when they would inhale as much air as they could before breathing it all out.

"If we continue like this," Mercury began, "We're all going to pass out."

"I wouldn't mind passing out right now." Jupiter took a seat on the ground.

"We have to be strong, guys," Sailor Moon spoke with urgency in her voice.

"We know that, Serena, but we can't be much help to Rini if we're too tired to do anything." Tuxedo Mask placed a hand on her shoulder and regarded her with understanding eyes.

Sailor Moon hung her head, still breathing heavily but knowing they were right.

Star looked around them again. Still nothing, but she could hear that voice. The footsteps were long gone, but the voice remained. She heard it clearly every once in a while; mostly just when it spoke her Senshi name. Otherwise it was too indiscernible to make out anything.

"There's something over there," Mars spoke up suddenly, pointing off in the direction she saw that something. "I can't tell what it is, though."

"Hey, I see it, too," Venus said from over Mars' shoulder, leaning on the other girl for support.

The rest of the group gathered around Mars and Venus, peering off into the distance (was it a distance?) to try and make out what it was. It appeared to be getting larger. It suddenly charged right towards them.

"Oh my god!" Venus jumped, startled by the sudden movement.

"The dragon!" Sailor Moon could see its wings now and she could tell that it wasn't touching the ground. Rather than running towards them, it was flying towards them.

It soared over them, the wind it cause threatening to push them over. They turned as quickly as they could to look over at the creature. It appeared to be sitting on its haunches but it was hard to tell considering that its wings were blocking the view of its torso. The dragon's eyes glowed silver, almost white, as it stared at the teens.

"Time to take this thing down," Jupiter said, clapping her hands together. "Jupiter Th-"

"Don't!" Tuxedo Mask told her as he saw the dragon begin to open its wings again. His eyes widened. All their eyes widened.

The dragon had in its clutches a black and white feline and a pink haired child. Both their forms were limp.


	13. Chapter 12

**Forced  
**_Chapter 12_

"Rini!" Sailor Moon's heart was beating wildly; she could practically hear it in her ears. She could definitely feel it as her temples throbbed, like she had a headache rather than extreme panic. 'Don't be dead! She can't be dead!'

The others stared on in shock and fear, including Sailor Star, who couldn't even bring herself to speak. She tried at least three times to call out to Spike to see if he'd respond, but her mouth only opened and closed stupidly. Her mind was racing, trying to concentrate to sense any life force, however, she was having far too much difficulty in getting the rest of her mind to shut up and let her do so.

"What'd you do to them?!" Jupiter suddenly shouted out.

None of them expected a reply though. This wasn't like any other enemy that they'd faced since it wasn't even remotely humanoid and it only seemed to be able to speak one word in their language. So when no reply came, none of them demanded for it to speak. None of them threatened to blast it to smithereens if it didn't tell them everything.

"What are we going to do?" Sailor Moon demanded and when no one responded she practically screamed, "WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?!"

"Sailor Moon, calm down!" Sailor Mars tried to reason with her, taking the girl by the shoulders and staring her right in the eyes. Sailor Mars was frightened to see that the Senshi's eyes were completely clouded with panic; she'd never seen her this way before. She would have expected that the girl be more determined to get Rini back and summon some powerful attack that would allow them to do so. Not this. Not this extreme panic. 'This place is affecting her,' Mars determined in silence.

"How can I be calm! How can I, Rei?!" she demanded, taking Mars by the shoulders as well and shaking her slightly.

"Enough." Star snapped, decking the girl upside the head. "Panicking will _not_ help her, or Spike for that matter." She watched as Sailor Moon's panic fell when she looked at her. Star didn't offer a comforting smile; she offered nothing but a serious look. "If you're going to panic, go do it elsewhere."

As terrified as Star was, she wasn't about to stand there and listen to Sailor Moon's frantic cries and watch as she seemed to take a fit of violence (even though mild) against her friends. She didn't move until Sailor Moon's hands had dropped from Mars' shoulders, and Mars' hands from Sailor Moon's. Her eyes watched as Sailor Moon ran over to Tuxedo Mask and buried her head in his chest, seeking support. Star didn't even flinch as his expression scolded her, she only stared him down until he looked away.

The others watched the scene, sensing the tension in the air. None of them dared say anything or even move in the mere moments that this happened. But when Star looked back to the dragon, they all seemed to be snapped out of their reverie.

"So what _are_ we going to do?" Venus asked, although she did so at least three times calmer than Sailor Moon had done.

"We're going to have to fight it somehow. That, I know." Mars was watching the dragon, analyzing it as she hadn't been able to do before. She knew that this wouldn't be easy.

"The question now is how," Mercury voiced. She wasn't even going to try her scanner, knowing it to be useless. It just wouldn't work against these things.

"Do you think it's like that other thing was?" Jupiter wondered aloud.

"Definitely," Star said with a curt nod.

"Then all we have to do is get you to do whatever you did last time," Venus' suggestion would have continued, but it was cut short.

"How 'bout we don't and say we did." The Senshi didn't even look to the others. She knew that they were giving her expressions of question and wondering if maybe now she'd tell them what had caused her to break down like that. 'Not a chance,' she thought silently.

"But, that was the only thing that had worked. We have to save them," Mars spoke forcefully. Perhaps if the girl were to tell her why she didn't want to try that plan again then she'd back off. But if she wasn't showing reason for her resistance, then the fire Senshi didn't care.

"I know that, idiot," Star snapped, glaring at Mars, who in turn jumped in surprise.

"What if… What if we used the Silver Crystal on it?" Jupiter speculated and her expression contorted in a way that showed she was thinking hard about this. This wasn't just some half-cocked plan she was throwing out there.

"That may work," Mercury nodded. "If you were to use its purifying properties, Sailor Moon, it might drive the dragon off. And it wouldn't hurt Rini or Spike."

"Of course, why didn't we think of this before?" Venus looked to her friends, who only shrugged.

Sailor Moon thought about it as she still clung to Tuxedo Mask. She could feel his gaze on the top of her head, waiting for her decision. It made sense; it truly did. But would she be able to pull it off? What if she failed? What if the Imperial Silver Crystal even failed? It had never failed before, but what if it did this time?

"We have to try," she finally said, pushing away from Tuxedo Mask. "Right?" she looked up into his dark blue eyes for support. When she saw him nod and show a warm smile, she couldn't help but smile in return.

"And we can help," Mars said, placing a hand on Sailor Moon's shoulder with caution. She was relieved to see Sailor Moon turn and reveal an apologetic expression; wordlessly, they made amends.

"Then get your asses moving," Star suddenly ordered, moving to stand before the group. She leapt into the path of the sudden attack that was flying their way with only the hope that that shield would reappear to protect them. If not, well, this was going to hurt.

Tuxedo Mask and the other Senshi turned and gasped when they heard the impact of the attack against the transparent, though somehow silver, shield. Star felt the impact on her arms as she held them out and up, concentrating her energy and power to make and hold this shield. The force of the attack caused her to skid backwards and she positioned her feet to try and stop the slide, but there was nothing there to cause any friction. When the attack subsided she was able to stop.

Her breathing having picked up slightly, she looked through the shield at the dragon who had no expression to read. All she could really see were its eyes, which she glared at. Her thoughts were still racing far too much to try and sense any life forces, but something told her that if they were dead, the dragon would have merely discarded them. Instead, the dragon held onto them, like they were bait.

"Are you-?" she heard someone ask and didn't really care who.

"Just do it!"

"Let's go!"

She felt very suddenly an intense amount of power behind her and felt a heat radiating and penetrating the cold that she'd been feeling. Sailor Star was forced to squint her eyes slightly as the bright pink light surrounded her as well as the rest of them and was forced backwards again when the dragon attacked a second time. This time, it was more powerful and she watched in horror as the shield looked like it was disintegrating.

'Come on, come on,' she pleaded with them silently, afraid that if she spoke out loud then she might lose the shield.

She heard them calling out behind her, each saying their planet's name before the full attack was launched at the dragon. Star was shocked to see the attack blast right through her shield, destroying it like it was glass, and shocked to see it drive back the dragon's most recent attack. Not only did it drive it back, it cut right through it, annihilating it before doing the same to the dragon. Her grey eyes widened as the dragon roared out in dismay, flailing as it dissipated to nothing.

She turned when she heard the other Senshi cheer and saw them all hugging each other. She saw now that Sailor Moon was being held in Tuxedo Mask's arms, though she wasn't Sailor Moon at this point in time. Sailor Star's eyes widened as she realized she was finally seeing Princess Serenity. In the past she'd only known of the girl; only known to kill her under the command of Sailor Universe. And then only known to protect her under the wishes of Queen Serenity, the princess' mother. She'd known who the princess' civilian and heroine forms were, but had never actually seen _her_.

"She'll be all right."

Star snapped out of her shock upon hearing Tuxedo Mask's voice. She met his gaze now.

"It just takes a lot of energy out of her to use the crystal," he explained. Though his tone seemed kind, she could tell that he was still wary.

She clouded her expression, allowing her face and eyes to fall blank. "I know she's all right."

Turning, she looked over to where the dragon had been, seeing that both its captives were now laying on the ground as if they were taking a nap. Spike was curled up in a ball, his tail wrapped around his form while Rini was also curled up on her side. Star didn't doubt that if Rini had had a tail, it would have been curled around her. She smiled slightly.

Still in Senshi form, she walked over to her guardian, crouching down beside him as she saw Jupiter gingerly pick up Rini from the corner of her eye. Unlike Jupiter, Star didn't pick up her friend right away, stroking his head gently.

"Spike," she spoke softly to see if he would wake up. She couldn't help but grin further when Spike responded by rolling onto his back and curling his front paws up to his chest while his back paws were stretched out. It was just too cute not to smile at. Whatever had happened to them, they were fine, or at least Spike was.

She picked him up and cradled him in her arms and looked over to Rini. She was now being piggy-backed by Jupiter and her form was still limp. But her expression looked peaceful, like she was a little child who'd tried to stay up late with the older kids but had fallen asleep anyway.

"Anyone got any bright ideas how to get out of here?" Jupiter asked as she looked around them. Wherever they were, it didn't seem to be disappearing all too quickly. This didn't bode well.

"I would have thought that this place would have disappeared when the dragon did," Mercury said with a shrug.

"Me, too, but it looks like we're still stuck here." Tuxedo Mask looked down at Serenity in his arms, but they wouldn't get any ideas from her. She was asleep, wearing the same peaceful expression as Rini.

"Does that mean the dragon's not gone?" Venus suddenly thought. Her bright eyes flew frantically around them, yet she only saw the darkness around them. There were no enemies in sight.

No one confirmed or denied her question, all wearing anxious expressions.

"We can't teleport without Sailor Moon…" Mars brought up and watched as the others nodded in agreement. "Should we wait for her to wake up?"

"Who knows how long that could take? Especially considering its Serena we're talking about here." Jupiter shifted Rini's weight a bit, finding a more comfortable way to carry her.

"She's right, you know," Mercury sighed.

"I have an idea," Star spoke suddenly. She didn't even know where this idea had come from. It just popped into her head all of a sudden and something was telling her it would work.

"And?" Mars cocked an eyebrow, waiting for the girl to explain, though it didn't seem that she would.

"Hold him." Star entrusted her cat to Venus, who, though surprised, took the cat into her arms and held him as she would hold Artemis.

The rest of the group crowded around her curiously as she crouched down and placed her hands on the ground (if it was the ground). She ignored any questions they threw her way as she closed her eyes and focused her powers. Silver light emitted from her hands and a wind that hadn't existed a second before stirred around them. The other Senshi looked around curiously before their attention fell back to Star.

She opened her eyes and they appeared to be glowing a bright silver, much like the dragon's eyes had been. For a moment, they were frightened by this, wondering if she'd been possessed by the creature. They failed to notice the black mist swirling about her hands as the silver was a much more eye-catching substance.

"Star Imitation." Her voice sounded far away and echoic, and it even felt slightly like it reverberated around them.

Before they could say anything, show any form of exclamation and shock, they found themselves once again back in familiar surroundings. They were all back in their regular clothing and the night air sifted around them. None dared to move as they saw the guards standing around the wooden horses before them. The men hadn't seemed to notice them. Yet.

"Don't worry, they can't see you. Or hear you for that matter."

They looked over to see Kanaye, who was grinning as he looked at them. Looking around, they didn't see Luna or Artemis, so it seemed that they hadn't brought him here.

"Seems you all made it out alive. Impressive."

"How did you-" Essa began to question vehemently as she stood, however found her vision blurring before she fell into darkness.

She swayed slightly, looking like she was about to fall over before her knees simply gave out from under her. The rest of the group was surprised to see Kanaye catch her falling form; they hadn't even seen him move.

"Just what are you?" Mercury regarded him curiously. She found it quite extraordinary that he'd been able to move so quickly and considering all he'd seemed to know about wherever they'd just been… she was curious.

"I think we've got more important things to take care of right now," he said as he hoisted Essa up onto his back, carrying her the same way Lita was carrying Rini.

"As much as I'd like to pummel this guy for information, he's right," Rei reluctantly agreed.

"Give me the cat," Kanaye told Mina as he began to shift Essa's weight on his back.

"How do you expect to carry them both? I could take care of Spike until she's conscious again." Mina was reluctant to let this strange guy take either of the two and she completely failed to see how he was going to carry both of them. Maybe if he was carrying the girl more like Darien was carrying Serena…

"I can handle it," he insisted, somehow managing to hold out one hand to take the cat into his grasp.

They stared incredulously as he managed to support the girl and take the cat at the same time. They saw that he intended to rest Spike's form on his shoulder, much like any of them would do with either Luna or Artemis, but they didn't know if it would work without the cat awake. So of course they were surprised when it did and as he managed not to drop either of them. Spike was rested on Kanaye's shoulder between Essa's draped arm and the boy's neck, so he seemed somewhat secure.

"Until we next meet. You probably want to get out of here pretty quickly. Once I leave, those guards won't be so oblivious anymore." Manoeuvring his way between the wooden horses, he walked away.

The group didn't want to test this theory, so they booked it out of there as quickly as they could manage. Once a ways a way, they felt it was safe to speak again.

"Rini can stay at my place for tonight," Lita told Darien. "It'd be no trouble."

"All right," he nodded.

"Actually, it's closer to morning now," Ami said as she looked at her watch.

"Whatever." Lita sighed and rolled her eyes slightly.

"I think we should meet up later. Or at least sometime soon. I have a feeling we're not out of this yet," Rei said, her eyes shifting around them. Something still didn't feel right, she just couldn't tell what.

"Oh, come on, Rei. You're just still feeling the effects of that place," Mina insisted. "Everything will be fine in the morning. I mean, we beat the bad guy to smithereens, right? I wasn't just imagining it?"

"No, but still. Something doesn't feel right," Rei persisted.

"For now, I say we all just go home and catch some z's. I'm beat," Lita told them.

Agreeing, each headed off in their separate ways into the night to head home. Whether Rei was right or not, now was time for sleep. Sleep was good.

xxxxxxx

Spike stretched out as he awoke, opening his mouth wide in a yawn. His tongue curled backwards as he did this before his jaws snapped shut and he shook himself slightly. Opening his eyes, he jumped in surprise before it dawned on him where he was.

'Right, Tokyo,' he thought, looking around the familiar hotel room. 'But wait… how did I get here?'

He sat on the bed, thinking about the last thing he recalled. The Dark Senshi were chasing he and Rini, all three of them, yet when they looked back at one point, only Space and Universe's forms were trailing them. The two had been confused as to where Star's form had gone, though they shouldn't have allowed themselves to be confused, because then the dark engulfed them. Or at least, had engulfed him. He wondered what happened to Rini.

'She doesn't appear to be here,' he thought as he looked around.

The only form that was in the bed was Essa's, as he expected. He minded his steps as he approached her pillow. Looking down at her sleeping face, everything seemed perfectly fine. He could tell that she had her arms curled up to her chest under the covers, seeing the tops of her knuckles at the edge of the blanket. The chain for her pendant was the only part visible of the piece of jewellery and it was a wonder the thing didn't break as she slept. It only ever broke when she transformed.

Content that she was fine and vaguely wondering how he'd managed to get back here, he hopped off the bed and walked over to the dresser in the room. It sat close enough to the large window that he could sit on it and still peer outside. Careful not to scratch the dresser's surface, he leapt up onto it and sat at an angle so that he could see out the window. What he saw troubled him.

Glancing at the clock, he determined that it was seven o'clock, he assumed in the morning, not bothering to look for the a.m./p.m. light.. His eyes fell back to the outside world, his expression furrowing at the sight of the heavily clouded sky.

'Maybe it's just supposed to rain,' he thought silently.

But it looked exactly like the same sky that had covered them when there was the dragon. He'd half guessed that maybe the dragon had been defeated, but this showed him otherwise. Had the dragon been defeated? Though another thought came to mind and he looked over at Essa's sleeping form.

'It's also like the sky before Sailor Space had attacked her,' Spike recalled the incident.

The sky had grown dark and then there shortly after had been what had seemed to be an earthquake. Essa and Serena had gone out in search of the other Senshi to try and solve the problem. Serena's communicator had been on the frits, because of what was happening, so they had had to go out searching for the others on foot. Phone lines had come crashing down, so there was no way to call them, either.

They'd ended up at Darien's apartment, where they would encounter Sailor Space. It was during this battle that Essa felt she had been betrayed by Serena, Darien and the rest of the Senshi, but especially Serena and Darien. Space had used an attack which had sealed the girl (at the time Star) in a world of darkness where she'd been tormented by the voice that had turned her into an evil Senshi. The others, though, had done nothing to help her. In the end, it had been the spirit of Queen Serenity from the Silver Millennium that had helped her dispel the darkness.

He recalled that Space had continued, telling Essa that friends were useless if they only stood around and did nothing to help. After this battle, she'd run away, becoming invisible to the Senshi's eyes. They hadn't been able to trace her at all, as if she'd disappeared off the face of the earth.

Of course he'd followed. He was her guardian, and more importantly her friend. At first, she'd been angry at him as well, but soon allowed him back into her good graces. Well… maybe not soon, but eventually. It really wasn't until after Essa had 'taken care of' the other Dark Senshi that she had taken to him again.

'No earthquakes this time.' He looked out the window again. 'Not yet at least. So maybe it's not the same situation and won't turn out like it.' He truly hoped this; he didn't want anymore death.

He walked back over to the bed, jumping up onto the end of it, careful not to wake Essa. So far so good, and he pawed the remote, which he'd picked up off the dresser with his teeth (very awkwardly), in the proper position to turn the television on. He just hoped it wasn't too-

"SCORE! AND THAT'S ANOTHER GOAL FOR THE HOME TEAM!"

-loud…

Essa shot up in bed, saying some shocked, unintelligible phrase. Her hair was unkempt on her head and in her eyes, though he could still see her half-asleep, dazed expression as he turned the television down. What idiot had had it that loud in the first place?

"What's going on?" she mumbled, still looking around shocked and now pushing her hair out of her eyes as her other hand stretched into the air with a yawn. She looked down at herself suddenly, feeling fabric of clothes that definitely didn't feel like her pyjamas. "Why the hell am I still in my clothes?" she was still mumbling.

"Sorry 'bout that." Spike grinned apologetically. "And I don't know why you're still in your clothes. I was trying to figure out how we got back here, myself. I figured you'd brought us back."

"Mhmm."

Was she even listening? By the looks of it, no, considering that she was now scratching her head and looking around all dazed. He sighed and turned his attention back to the television, flicking it to a weather channel to see what the meteorologists were reporting. It looked like there was a seventy percent chance of rain in their area.

'So maybe nothing's out of the ordinary…' He looked over to Essa. "Oy, I wouldn't get up just yet if I were you."

He watched as she hung her feet over the bed and made to stand up, only to sway around a bit and fall back onto the bed. For a moment he'd thought she was going to pitch forward into the wall, but nope, she fell backwards. Sighing in relief he walked over to her and sat by her head.

"See, I told you."

She mumbled some gibberish before she opened her eyes and looked up at him.

"Can we just veg. out and vacation now?" she asked as if he was a parent rather than a cat.

"I'm guessing that means the dragon's been defeated?" He saw her nod and he grinned. "Then I guess we're good to just be normal again."

She grinned slightly, poking his nose as she spoke. "Normal cats don't talk."

"Shut up."


	14. Chapter 13

**Forced  
**_Chapter 13_

Serena was walking down the street, munching on the pastry she had in her hand. Of course she shouldn't have been eating it; her mother would kill her if she knew she was pigging out on junk food before lunch. But after all that gaming at the arcade, she was hungry.

'The guys don't know what they're missing,' she thought. 'I would have bought them some yummy food, too.'

Her friends had declined to going to the arcade with the girl, since it seemed each of them had something better to do. The uniquely hair styled blonde hadn't bothered asking what those better things to do were, just figuring it was there loss. Now she was convinced that it was their loss; this had to be the best pastry the bakery had made yet!

'I'll just have to rub it in their faces later.' She grinned, to which any passer by might give her an odd look as they milled about.

But that milling about suddenly became a panicked run. Shocked and suddenly feeling herself being jarred about by the frantic people, Serena dropped the pastry. At first she was a little miffed, but then came to her senses in realizing that there was something wrong here. So, she forced her way through the fleeing people, trying desperately to get to the source of the problem. It was her duty after all and even the sense of panic within her wouldn't stop her.

The closer she got to the scene, the more became known to her. She could hear the screaming people now and the explosions; she could even see the dirt flying into the air and hear cars scraping along the ground again. She wondered suddenly if the dragon had returned once again.

She reached for her transformation broche and stopped. She repeatedly patted the place where the broche _should_ have been, but felt nothing there. Her blue eyes went wide and then wider as she looked to see that it indeed wasn't there.

'Oh no! Where is it?!'

She looked around the best she could considering the running people. She saw nothing on the ground and began to suspect that maybe it had been knocked off back when they'd first started running.

'What am I going to do?!'

Her attention flew upwards again, bracing herself as she suddenly heard a very close explosion. While she was somehow able to remain in one place, as if she'd been cemented to the ground, the people around her flew in every which direction. Their screams filled the air, though barely heard due to the explosion. When it was safe to look, Serena was horrified to see bodies scattered around her, each bleeding in some way or another. She resisted her own urge to scream.

Another explosion came from before her and this time she flew backwards, doing backwards summersaults down the pavement of the sidewalk. It wasn't until her back slammed into the roof of a toppled car that she was able to stop and she screamed at the jarring pain.

She heard footsteps coming through the dust and smoke that filled the air before her. With shaking hands, she scrambled to get her communicator to reach the others; their something better to do would have to be put on pause for a while. She looked at the device, about to press the appropriate button to get a hold of the others only to see that it was completely cracked, almost in three. It was useless.

Tears flooded her eyes at this point.

'Someone… help…' she tried to say it, but her voice wouldn't work. Thinking it would have to suffice.

She was shaking, her panicked mind trying to think of something to do. There was nothing of use to her; she couldn't do anything to save herself. Her locket was gone, her communicator broken, her voice unusable. What was she going to do?

As the footsteps drew closer, she saw a shadow of a form beginning to appear in the dust. As it began to settle, she was able to see the form clearly. The being wore a grey Senshi outfit; one that was painfully recognizable. A whip was draped across the being's shoulder and, as Serena looked to the person's face, she recognized it immediately. She'd been hoping her eyes were deceiving her.

'St-star?' Again, she opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

"It ends here, Serenity," Star spoke. It had been a long time since she'd called Serena that. It brought back other horrible memories.

'No! No! It can't be!' Serena's mind screamed.

She noticed that Star's eyes seemed to be glowing; they looked like a bright silver, maybe a white, almost as white as the girl's hair. The Senshi drew the whip off her shoulder, letting it hang at her side as she ceased walking.

"It ends, Serenity," Star repeated. Wordlessly, she raised the whip.

'NO!'

xxxxxxx

Another explosion, or was it? Whatever it was, Serena sat bolt upright in the bed with a scream of terror. Or had she screamed at all? Maybe her voice still didn't work.

She sat in silence for a moment, breathing heavily and clutching the blanket in her hands tightly before realizing that it didn't feel like her blankets at all. Her eyes scanned the dark coloured blankets and then the rest of the dark room. She didn't recognize it, maybe because it was so dark in there. Why was it so dark in there?

Looking around, she discovered the window, but it was covered with dark, heavy drapery. Vaguely, she could see a bit of light from beyond the material, but even the light seemed dark. Cautiously, she got up from the bed, trying not to trip and stumble over anything in the darkness. Oddly, she didn't feel too panicked, even though she was in a strange place.

The only reason she had to feel even the littlest bit of panic was the dream. It drummed through her mind and no matter how hard she shook her head and told herself it was a dream it wouldn't go away. She just hoped she could look back on it later and wonder what had been so scary about it. Something told her otherwise, though.

She reached out for the handle of the door, realizing for the first time that she was still wearing the same clothes she'd been wearing the previous day. She felt the familiar fabric of the light t-shirt and the skirt brush against her skin as she moved. She even felt the socks on her feet, but where had her shoes gone?

Deciding not to worry about it, she quietly opened the door and stepped out into the naturally, though dimly lit hallway. She had no choice but to turn to the right, noticing that in turning left she would simply run into the wall. Good thing she was as awake as she was, or else she probably would have walked smack into that wall. That would have just been the icing on the cake for this morning. Was it morning?

As she began to walk down the hallway, she began to hear more sounds. The sounds of a television and the sound of rain. Why she hadn't heard it in the room, she didn't know. Maybe she'd just been too startled by the dream to notice it. But now she could hear it pounding on the side of the building and on the windows.

When she walked by the bathroom, she began to think that she recognized where she was. At the time though, she just couldn't place where she was. She was, however, coming to the end of the hallway, which led to a large open room that looked like a living room and it was connected to the kitchen. She could see the corner of a television, and it appeared to be lighter in that room, yet still dim.

Another explosion, only it wasn't an explosion, but a boom of thunder. Involuntarily, she yelped out, leaning against the wall and putting her hands over her ears. She didn't like thunderstorms as it was, but with the thoughts of the dream in tow it was worse. This time, she'd actually heard her voice, too; a sense of relief that she wasn't suddenly dumb went through her.

"Serena?"

She recognized the voice; knew it all too well, but daren't have moved. She heard the recognizable voice move closer to her.

"Hey, it's all right. Just thunder."

Her fearful eyes looked up at Darien who was smiling down at her. Before either of them said anything more, she threw her arms around him and buried her face in his chest. He seemed a little shocked at first, but returned the embrace. It was then that he noticed she was shaking.

"Serena, what's wrong?" He had a feeling there was something more to this fear than just her standard fear of thunderstorms.

She only shook her head, signalling that she was unable to speak. As much as she wanted to tell him, at this moment she just couldn't. She'd been rendered a mute again.

He stood there holding her and rubbing her back soothingly for a moment before gently leading her towards the couch in the living area of the apartment. When they'd taken a seat, she drew her legs up onto the piece of furniture and curled up beside him. He slung an arm around her shoulders and just watched her as they sat there in silence.

He hadn't even heard her get up, but assumed that it was the growing storm outside that had jarred her awake. It was near ten in the morning, yet still looked more like just before dawn when one looked out the window. The sky was thick with rain clouds; actual rain clouds that released rain. Not some sign of evil for once.

The volume on the television was low, as he hadn't wanted to wake her. It was almost too low to hear, but he could hear it well enough. There was never anything on in the mornings anyway. Nor in the afternoon really. He'd stuck in a movie, but he'd seen it a billion times over. Okay, so maybe not _that_ many times, but enough times that he didn't need to pay attention to it.

"I couldn't transform," she said after a long period of silence.

Darien's attention fell solely on Serena again. She wasn't looking at him, staring off at the carpeted floor.

"My broche was gone. I don't know what happened to it. I think it might have gotten knocked off when the people ran into me," she told him inconclusively.

"Why did they run into you?" he prodded her to continue.

"There was another attack. Explosions, people screaming. Cars flipping over, clouds of dust. I ran to try and help, but then when I couldn't find my broche I started panicking. There was another explosion and people went flying everywhere, except I stayed in place. Then another and I went flying. I hit a car when I stopped and tried to get hold of the others but…" she paused again.

"But?"

"The communicator was broken. And I couldn't scream. Couldn't do anything but sit there."

"Was it the dragon?" he asked, starting to hope that this wasn't some form of a premonition.

"No." She paused again, and he opened his mouth to ask who was attacking, but she continued. "It was Sailor Star."

His form went slightly rigid. Now he definitely hoped this wasn't a premonition. He hoped instead that it the dream had come from a memory stirred up from the past.

"Her eyes were glowing. Silver or white, or something, it was hard to tell. She told me 'It ends here, Serenity.' She told me that; twice. And then she was about to attack…"

"But you woke up?" Darien guessed, trying to stop his blood from running cold. When she nodded he hugged her to him and said, "It was just a dream, Serena. Everything's fine."

"It seemed so real." She welcomed his embrace, holding her eyes shut to prevent, or try to prevent, any more tears from coming. Considering it was Serena, she wasn't doing the greatest of jobs preventing the tears. She was able to, however, resist sobbing.

Another boom of thunder sounded around them and she jumped again, though this time didn't vocalize the fear any. Even in Darien's embrace she was frightened. She wanted so much to believe that Essa wasn't evil anymore and that she was there to help them. Hadn't she proven that she wasn't evil when she jumped in front of the attack and protected them with her shield? Hadn't she proven that when she'd leapt in to save the day when the dragon had been about to blow Serena to smithereens?

But the dream… it wouldn't leave her mind. It kept bringing up the factor that she'd been resisting this whole time.

What if?

xxxxxxx

Essa emerged from the bathroom in a clean set of shorts and a tank top, rubbing her wet hair with a towel. After lounging about for a bit and waking up, she'd told Spike what she remembered from the previous day's events and the events after he and Rini had vanished into the pavement. Neither of them could figure out how they'd gotten back to the hotel, considering that Spike had been passed out and she'd ended up passing out. They wanted to chalk it off to one of the Senshi having brought them back, but none of them had known where the Senshi and her guardian were staying so it was a mystery. They'd decided not to worry about it.

Shortly after, she'd gone to take a shower and left him to watch the television.

Essa let the towel hang over her face for a minute or two as she grabbed her brush from her bag and then headed back to the bathroom. In the bathroom, she hung the towel up over the shower curtain's bar and then took to brushing her hair and pulling it back into a ponytail. She always kept elastics on her brush's handle, so she never had to go looking for them.

When she was satisfied with her appearance, she set the brush down and walked back out into the main part of their hotel room, bouncing into a sit on the bed beside Spike. She laughed as he was sent tumbling about on the mattress and took this time to steal the remote control from him.

"Hey! I was watching that!" he protested as she changed the channel from the talk show he'd been watching.

"And now you're not." She stuck out her tongue at him and turned back to the set.

The channel surfing continued amidst Spike's protests every time she stopped at a channel.

"The show's boring," he would say.

To which Essa would reply, "Everything's boring to you."

"Not what I'd been watching."

"Now _that_ is boring."

"No it wasn't."

"Yeah, definitely was."

"Says you."

"Says the all mighty controller of remotes."

In the blink of an eye, the television shut off. Both stared at the blank screen for a moment as Essa tried the power button. Nothing.

"Now you're definitely not watching it." Essa sighed as a clap of thunder crashed in the sky.

The room lit up momentarily as another bolt of lightning flashed. They turned to watch it streak through the sky and heard as another boom of thunder followed it. The pair sighed.

"I'd say let's go find something to do, but no way in hell I'm going out there. I'd really rather not be struck by lightning," Essa said, looking at Spike who nodded in agreement.

"So, what should we do?" Spike asked after a moment of trying to think of something. "Don't suppose you brought a board game or a deck of cards?"

"You know, I didn't even think of that. Not that I actually own a board game or a deck of cards. I think my cousins would have killed me if I'd taken any of theirs."

"True. Speaking of your cousins, maybe you should write to your aunt and uncle just so they know you're not dead."

"And tell them what, exactly? 'Oh, my vacation is great! So far we've been battling evil dragons and my past has come up to haunt me! Wish you were here!'" Essa made ridiculous faces and did ridiculous actions as she spoke in a ridiculously cheery voice.

"Make something up," Spike chuckled and shook his head.

"Maybe later. I don't feel like writing anyway. My shoulder hurts," she complained, taking to rubbing it absently.

"The gunshot?"

"Yeah."

"Even in civilian form you still took on the bad guys."

She only chuckled, not about to waste her breath telling him that she probably could be considered one of the bad guys. But she recalled the incident well.

After running from the Senshi when she'd felt betrayed, she'd holed herself up in a little motel. In order to pay for staying at this motel, she'd taken to working at a café. Good thing the motel was really cheap, or else she wouldn't have been able to do it. For a while it had been great because she could just act like a normal person. It wasn't long that normal people troubles found their way to her, though.

A robber had come in, brandishing a gun and demanding the money, to which she'd steadfastly refused to give him. To this day she was still shocked at how fearless she'd been when facing this guy, especially since he wasn't some scrawny midget. Instead, she'd taunted him, telling him that it was sad and pathetic that he'd want to rob a café. Oh yeah, smart move that one. The gun was pointed at her face.

She recalled one of her fellow workers, who also happened to be a friend, telling her to just give the guy the money. Yet still, she wasn't about to let the ass have his way. When the gunman had seen that when her own life was in jeopardy she didn't care, he'd pointed the gun at a child. He'd expected her to throw the money at him now, but was instead shocked by what she actually did.

Essa had managed to jump over the counter, using the stool she'd been sitting on to help her. In his shock, she'd slugged him in the face, having maybe knocked out some teeth. In his anger, he resumed pointing the gun at her when he'd regained his footing and got over the shock. He should have just stayed shocked because now she hit him in the stomach and took his feet out from under him. Unfortunately, he was much quicker in getting over the shock this time.

Just as she'd been about to kick the gun away from him, he'd aimed and fired. The bullet had lodged into her left shoulder and chest area, far enough from the heart but she'd been afraid that maybe he'd hit a lung instead. Somehow, she'd managed to stay on her feet.

Her friends at the café tried to coax her into leaving the guy alone now that she'd been injured, but he'd gone back to threatening the people in the café, saying that they'd be shot too. Though it was dangerous, one of the employees had managed to call the cops during all this, though couldn't do anything more than dial.

Essa had been prepared to transform right then and there in front of all those people, but she hadn't needed to, as the cops came crashing through the door. Of course the guy resisted, now taking Essa and another employee/friend as hostages. Even with the gun at the side of her head, she'd attacked the guy one last time, kicking out his knees and causing him to tumble, which allowed the police officers to move in.

Finally, she passed out from the pain of the wound, only to wake up later in the hospital. It was because she'd landed in the hospital that the police had connected her as one of a group of three missing friends. She wasn't sure how, since she didn't carry any ID, but had guessed maybe it was because they'd asked her employer for her name. Whatever the case, they'd found her.

It was also at this time that she'd learned of her parents' and her brother's deaths, since she'd had no recollection of having killed them until a later time. When she'd heard that the authorities were probably going to put her into foster care, she'd booked it out of the hospital, obviously much too soon for her wound to have properly healed. She hadn't been concerned though, only concerned with disappearing again and finding the other Dark Senshi.

She'd banked on her Senshi powers to heal the gunshot wound, which they had, but not as effectively as if she'd have stayed in the hospital and allowed it to heal properly. Because of this, it still acted up sometimes, mostly when the weather was crumby like it was today. Sometimes it was rudely painful while other times it was just a dull twinge. Today was one of those in between days that rarely happened.

Though she wasn't a lefty, she was going to stick with the excuse that her shoulder hurt to use in neglecting to write her family at the moment. Like she'd said, she had no idea what she'd tell them anyway. They were probably expecting that she'd been out shopping and that she had gone to tourist attractions and the likes. She hadn't done any of that. Not even close.

'What the hell am I supposed to tell them?' she thought silently. "Maybe I'll write them after the festival…" Essa muttered aloud.

"What festival?" Spike's ears perked forward, suddenly curious.

"The Star Festival." She bounced over to the other side of the bed where one of her suitcases sat. She began opening pockets, forgetting which one she'd placed the flier in. "It's coming up soon."

"You do realize the irony of _you_ going to the _Star_ Festival, right?" Spike questioned with a slight grin, watching her rummaging through her pack.

She laughed, "Actually, I hadn't. Oh well, I still want to go." She shook her head, wondering why that thought hadn't even dawned on her. "Ah-hah! Success!" she said, pushing off of her stomach and showing him the flier. "See?"

"Lovely, but how is that going to help our present boredom?"

"It doesn't. I was just saying that maybe I'd write the family after I'd gone to this so I'd actually have something to write to them."

"Guess you're going to have to go shopping sometime, too, then right?"

"Eh? Why?" She regarded him oddly, not seeing the connection.

"You're going to wear your regular clothing to the festival?"

"Why the hell not?"

"Shouldn't you get at least a little dressed up for that sort of thing?"

"I don't know." She shrugged now. "I've never been to one. Guess I'll have to find out."

"Guess so."

Silence.

"So, what now?"

"Go find some cards or something."

"Just where am I supposed to find those?"

"Downstairs. Gift shop."

"But I don't want to go all the way down there! I'd have to use the stairs, too!"

"Come on. I'm so bored."

"No."

"Please?" Spike proceeded to make a cute face, pretending to pout even.

"Fine." Essa sighed, grabbing her wallet which had the credit card she was to use in it. She also had a small amount of money in there, too. There was no way she was going to be able to resist that kitty's cuteness.

She headed towards the door after retrieving her wallet and stuck on a pair of flip flops. Resting her hand on the door handle, she turned back towards Spike and said, "You owe me, you brat."

"It's just a trip downstairs!" she heard him say as she exited the room after making sure she had the key card.

Considering the power was out, she wasn't even going to try the elevator. She even wondered if the store would be open with the power out, though maybe the guy would do all the transactions manually. She figured she'd have to use whatever money she had; no way she'd be able to use the credit card.

She chuckled as she headed down the stairs, knowing that Elizaveta would probably be checking how much she'd spent every once in a while. The shrink was probably baffled as to why the girl hadn't spent any money on it yet. The hotel billing was being handled separately and she'd been eating the hotel's food, so there weren't even food expenses.

When she got down there, she saw that the store was indeed still open and that the cashier, a middle aged woman, was doing the transactions manually. Essa browsed the shop a bit, seeing if there was anything else she wanted while she was in there. She didn't see any little trinkets or anything that she would want to get as gifts. She picked up a mini deck of cards, a box of Chocolate Almond Crush Pocky and a box of something called Crunky Kids. It sounded funny, so she thought she'd try it.

"Some nasty weather we're having, huh?" the cashier asked absently as she tallied up what Essa owed, and then telling her.

"Yeah. It's really coming down," she nodded whilst handing the woman the money.

"Tomorrow's not supposed to be any better, either."

"Hmm." Essa sounded noncommittally. 

"Here you go. Thanks for shopping," the woman smiled as she handed Essa the small bag with what she'd purchased.

Bowing slightly, she left the shop, making way for the next customer to buy what they'd picked out. She stopped once outside the shop, looking towards the hotel's main entrance for a moment. She saw several people running into the building from cabs and vice versa and just people running about to avoid the rain in general. Even those with umbrellas walked with a quickened pace, probably because it wasn't the wisest idea to walk with an umbrella when there was lightning.

Shrugging, opening the box of Pocky and sticking one in her mouth, she headed back towards the stairs. Yeah; she was staying in today.


	15. Chapter 14

**Forced  
**_Chapter 14_

"I'm back!"

He shut the door behind him as he said this, setting the grocery bag on the floor as he kicked off his shoes and pulled off his drenched raincoat. The water ran off the fabric and dripped on the floor, but he paid no mind to it as he collected the grocery bag once again and headed towards the kitchen.

When he walked more into the apartment he saw his mother and his younger brother sitting there watching some television show or another. Heading past the living room and into the kitchen he put the carton of milk he'd just gone to get into the fridge. With this task done, the living room became his destination.

"I was hoping you'd get struck by lightning," his brother said as he leaned on the back of the couch.

"Don't say that about your brother." His mother gave the younger sibling a stern look, to which the eldest sibling only grinned. "Thanks for getting the milk, Kanaye."

"No problem, ma. It's really coming down out there now." Kanaye continued to lean on the back of the couch, only slightly paying attention to whatever was on the television.

"So I can see," his mother nodded. "You boys should get ready to go to school, though."

It was still quite early in the morning; Kanaye's brother was still in his pyjamas even and judging by the empty bowl sitting beside him he'd just finished breakfast, too. The elder of the brothers walked off silently to his room where he changed into his school uniform and grabbed his book bag. He wasn't about to complain about going to school, considering there was only a short time left. And after this year was done he'd be graduating and so far he hadn't decided where he was going to go afterwards. While his family very much wanted him to go to college, going to college just didn't seem like the right choice at the moment. He wasn't too worried about that; he had other things to worry about.

"But mom! We'll drown before we even get close to the school! That or we'll get struck by lightning!"

When Kanaye emerged ready for school, he found his brother protesting their mother's idea of them walking to school. This wasn't unusual, but today he had some valid points to offer up. The preteen had his arms crossed across his chest and was giving their mother a look that said 'there is no way in hell I'm walking!' Kanaye only shook his head.

"All right, all right!" Their mother caved; again it wasn't all too unusual, though rarer than his brother's complaining. She got up off the couch, walked over to the table by the door and dug some money out of her purse. "Here's some money for the bus. If you miss it though don't come whining to me! You're going to school!"

"Thanks, mom!"

Kanaye watched as his brother gave their mom a quick kiss on the cheek before accepting the money and heading out the door. He pulled on his shoes again before putting his wet raincoat on, even over his book bag, which hung at his side. He too gave his mother a kiss on the cheek before heading out the door after his brother.

"Have a nice day," she told him as she closed the door behind him.

He stood out on the balcony for a moment as he looked out across the city and put the ear buds in his ears. He flicked on the mp3 player and searched for a song to start off the day with.

"Come on! You're going to miss the bus!" he heard his brother call just as the song started up. He pocketed the device.

Kanaye pulled up his hood and headed down the stairs to meet up with his brother who was already halfway to the sidewalk where the bus stop stood. The stairs creaked slightly, but he couldn't hear them due to the music. The wood was a bit slippery though because of the water, so he made sure not to lose his balance; he'd really rather not get a closer look at the stairs and then the pavement below. He was quite sure he knew what they looked like.

The bus ride to school was uneventful and though he could see a few people talking around him, he only heard his music. He recognized a few others from his school on the bus but didn't really say anything to them, only nodding a greeting if they looked his way. He didn't know half of them beyond being able to recognize them anyway, whether it was because they were in younger grades or not.

When the bus stopped in front of the schools, all the students piled off and headed to the appropriate one. Kanaye's school, as well as his younger brother's, stood side by side, divided only by two fields and a fence. Therefore there was a mass of students of younger and older ages running to their schools to get there one, before the bell rang and two, to get out of the rain. While he wasn't running, Kanaye did walk with a quicker pace than normal.

Before long, he was sitting in class with his other classmates, listening as the teacher took roll call and calling out when his name was said. And then he began taking notes as his teacher began writing on the board. He fit right in, because, despite his dealings with the Senshi and all of that, he was a normal kid.

He didn't have any superpowers and he certainly didn't fight the evil. He had no way to do this. There was perhaps only one way in which he was different from the other 'normal' people.

When he'd gotten up that morning, he was relieved to see that the dull, grey sky was only there because of the rainstorm. Upon the Senshi's return the night previous he was hoping that all of this mess was over and things could go back to being perfectly normal. Yet there was still this unsettling feeling inside of him that said it hadn't ended at all.

But he didn't hear the voice anymore. That voice that the others linked with the dragon, but they'd only heard it periodically. It wasn't that long ago that he'd started hearing it all the time and it was enough to drive him mad. He hadn't mentioned it to anyone, afraid at first that he might actually be mentally deranged and need to be taken to an asylum, so he tried to figure it out on his own.

The voice had been demanding that someone be found, someone by the name of Sailor Star. Who the hell this Sailor Star was he hadn't known and hadn't much cared, but he figured that if he could get this person to wherever the voice wanted then maybe it would shut up.

He could recall vividly the one morning that he'd woken up to find a silver pendant hanging from his light on the bedside table. The sunlight had reflected off of the pendant and into his eyes, which of course had woken him up. He'd naturally been irritated, mostly because it was the weekend and the one day he could sleep in at least a little bit more than usual, but he quickly became curious.

_"What's this?"_ he had asked as he sat up in bed and took the chain and pendant into his hands. Looking at it, it looked like any other necklace, yet something told him otherwise.

_"Her pendant."_

Looking around, he'd searched for the source of the voice, having wondered if maybe for once it would materialize. There was still nothing around him though but his room.

_"Whose?"_

_"Sailor Star."_

_"But what's it do? It's a necklace…"_

_"Her power."_

_"Her power?"_

_"Yes. She transforms."_

_"I see… I think…"_

It wasn't like he'd never heard of the Sailor Senshi before. One, there were the video games and comic books, and two he remembered hearing about them before in the news or something. He hadn't followed the story since it wasn't a topic of particular interest to him, but he thought he knew enough to understand.

_"You must find her."_

_"Who?"_

_"Sailor Star."_

_"I know that, but who is she? Where is she?"_ All the while, he stared at the pendant, trying to discover its power and why it was so imperative for this voice to find the girl. It gave him no answers.

_"She's not here."_

_"Well, no kidding."_

_"No, not in Japan."_

_"Wha? Then where?" _He really wished this voice would just speak to him in full sentences and give him all the answers at once, yet that wasn't the case. Just always choppy little orders and responses.

_"Far away. Russia."_

_"Are you kidding me? How the hell am I supposed to get it to her there? Unless you have a mailing address…"_

_"No. You must go."_

_"No way! That's far too far away!"_ Great. This voice would have him travel around the world to find this girl, it seemed. Why the hell was she so important?

_"It's fine. You'll go."_

_"Why don't you just go?"_

_"Can't."_

_"Can't?"_

_"Right."_

He'd sighed heavily, having a sinking feeling that there was no way he could get out of doing this. If only he'd never attempted to speak to the voice. If only he'd just committed himself to a mental ward. It would have been so much better… well… maybe.

_"So I just have to do this, and then it's done."_

_"Yes."_

_"Fine. I don't know how this is going to work, but fine."_

_"Trust."_

That had left an unsettling feeling within him. How could he possibly trust a bodiless voice that was set on sending him out chasing after some girl who wasn't even in Japan? Regardless, he made the decision to play his part as long as all this nonsense would stop involving him afterwards.

Approximately a week had passed and it was after dinner one night that he found himself making an excuse to step out. Afterwards he couldn't remember what the excuse was, but it had gotten him out of the house and into the almost dead streets of Tokyo without much questioning from his family.

_"All right, so how is this going to work?"_ he had asked as he stood in the streets, carefully watching those around him and wondering if they thought him a freak for apparently talking to himself. It didn't seem, however, that any of the very few people that walked even remotely close to him noticed him speaking at all.

_"Transport."_

_"What kind of transport? Car? Airplane? Flying elephant?"_ The voice had already iterated that this travel would not be a long one, and because he didn't see how that would be possible considering the normal flight time, he wasn't taking the voice all too seriously.

_"No."_

Before he'd been able to ask any further questions, he found himself in a strange place that he didn't recognize in the least. He stood in the middle of a busy sidewalk, people pushing around him and seeming not to have noticed that he'd just appeared there. Rather, they seemed irritated that he was just standing there and not moving to let them by. After the shock had settled in, he found himself able to speak again.

_"Where-?"_

_"Russia."_

_"How-?"_

_"Transport."_

_"Teleportation?"_

_"Right."_

_"This is too weird,"_ he'd muttered. Again, it didn't seem like anyone noticed him talking to himself.

_"Go straight. Continue to the houses."_

_"O... kay…"_

For a while he hadn't even been sure that he was headed in the right direction because the voice didn't give any further direction until he did reach a street of houses. He continued down the street of houses until he was instructed to stop.

_"Here?"_

_"Here."_

He'd looked at the somewhat large house, having just seen a van pull away from it only moments before. He'd seen someone else in the house close the door and he wondered if that person was the girl that he was supposed to give the pendant to. Looking highly suspicious, he had looked around him to see if anyone else was in the vicinity. By the looks of it, all others had seemingly disappeared; he shrugged it off.

Kanaye had walked up to the door of the house and stopped. Should he knock? Should he just go in? What the hell was he to do? He suddenly didn't know what he was supposed to do. He closed his eyes for a moment, gathering himself and trying to prepare himself for any situation that may come of going in that house. What if she was insane and tried to stab him with a knife? Damn, why hadn't he thought this through before?

_"In," _the voice had said after a moment and he was startled when the door opened up. He'd heard the lock click open and saw the door handle turn, but he hadn't touched it. He half wondered if maybe she was coming to the door now.

Cautiously, he'd stepped in the house and looked around a bit. He hadn't a clue where to search for the girl, so opted for looking around, though still with his guard up so that if she _was_ psycho and attacked him with a knife then he'd be ready for it. Though, he was breaking in, in a sense, so maybe it was reasonable that she'd attack him with a knife?

He'd jumped slightly when he saw the black and white cat look at him and assess him in an instant. The animal hissed at him, arching its back and looking like it was about to attack before it darted off towards the stairs.

_"The guardian," _the voice told him.

_"Guardian?"_

_"Yes. He speaks to her. Protects her."_

_"A talking cat? You're kidding, right?"_ But there had been no answer, so he assumed that the voice wasn't kidding. This Sailor Senshi business was a whole lot more complicated then he'd thought it to be.

He had heard as the cat darted up the stairs and heard now as they creaked. Apparently, someone else was coming down them. He braced himself as he headed back towards the entranceway, where he'd seen the stairs. Well, unless she kept a knife upstairs, she wouldn't be armed with that.

_"Her!"_

He had turned towards the stairs when he heard the voice say this, looking at the girl who stood on them. Both teens held shocked expressions for a moment and he examined her. Relief had flooded him when he saw that she wasn't armed and he saw the expression on her face was confused. Well, who wouldn't be?

Kanaye had listened and answered her questions as to how he got into the house as if it was a totally natural thing that he had managed to get in through a locked door.

_"The pendant," _the voice suddenly reminded him.

Brushing off her question of how he'd managed to open a locked door, he told her that he was there for a more important reason and pulled the necklace out of the pocket of the light jacket he'd been wearing. Her reaction was not one he'd expected at all. He'd been confused and shocked when he saw her expression change from one of inquiry to one of horror. While he was confused and shocked, he'd quickly become irritated when she'd said she wasn't going to take it. All this trouble and she wasn't going to take the damn thing? No way. Not happening.

Even speaking with the cat (which had shocked him, even though he acted as normal as he could about it) hadn't resulted in her taking the pendant back. All the while, he could clearly hear the voice growling slightly, obviously not pleased.

_"Leave," _it instructed.

_"Fine."_ His response could apply to both the voice's command and the cat at the same time. _"Have it your way then." _Again, it could apply to both.

When he'd left the house, he was duly irritated. This was supposed to put an end to all this for him, but now it appeared he'd have to deal with it a bit longer.

Before Kanaye could even comment about what had just happened, he found himself back in front of his building in Tokyo. Growling irritably, he had turned and headed back up the stairs of the apartment, mulling and grumbling all the while about what had just happened.

He hadn't even announced he was back, ignored any comment about his return and simply headed to his room, where he shut the door forcefully, though not full out slamming it. He took the pendant and threw it on the bedside table before sitting on his bed and putting his head in his hands.

_"What now?"_ he'd demanded as he ran his hands through his hair to deter himself from pulling it out.

_"Go back."_

_"What?!"_ He'd just lain down but sat up sharply, though there was no one to glare at. He glared anyway.

_"Later. When she's asleep. Give it to her."_

He'd groaned in frustration, falling back on the bed again. After a moment he said, _"Fine."_ She couldn't refuse taking it if she was asleep, right?

For the rest of the evening, he'd just sat in his room, thinking over and over about the situation. At first, he hadn't cared who this Sailor Star was or why they needed this pendant back, but now… after seeing the fear in that girl's eyes he wondered if he should really go through with giving it back to her. He'd stared at it for a couple of hours, wondering why she would be so afraid of a piece of jewellery. What had happened that she did want it anymore?

The more he had thought about it, the more curious he had become. Yet, in the early hours of the morning, he'd still allowed that voice to teleport him back to Russia and allow him entrance into the house.

He remembered that the room hadn't seemed dark at all and that he'd thought it a miracle that neither the girl nor her guardian had awakened. He'd stood there for several long moments, staring down at the girl and debating what he should do. Very suddenly, he'd felt that he didn't want to cause her any sort of sadness or fear, which he would surely do in giving this back to her.

_"The pendant. Give it to her."_

He ignored the voice to an extent, trying to make his own decision. In the end, he'd of course given it back to her, but not without uttering an apology. Even as he'd left, he felt a nagging feeling, but knew that there was no turning back now.

_"It is done,"_ the voice had told him as Kanaye had returned to the safety of his room. Soon, the rest of his family would be rising; they would never know that he'd been gone. _"She will return now."_

_"Why didn't I just wait until she came back, then?"_ he demanded irritably, but there had been no reply. He got this feeling that the voice no longer had any reason to deal with him anymore. But there was one problem that hadn't been solved; he could still hear the voice whispering, though very clearly, around him.

Even though he'd wanted no part of it anymore, Kanaye knew now that he couldn't escape it quite yet. As he sat in class now, taking some note that he wasn't paying much attention to he couldn't hear the voice anymore, but he remembered when he'd been sitting in class the other day and he could. If anything, when Essa had come back, it had gotten worse, because it had begun to scream. To yell. He assumed that it was because she was resisting it. And that was one of the main things that kept him hooked to the situation.

He wanted to know why she was resisting it. Had he unknowingly led her to some evil? As the events had begun to unfold, he began to believe this more and more. The voice, which he'd later seen in the form of a dragon, was causing destruction, all the while trying to get to this Senshi. So, until his curiousity was satisfied, he wasn't about to abandon them just yet.

That and he now felt this strange obligation to protect her, or at the very least help her. He kept telling himself that it was because he felt he'd unleashed this on her, which he had in a sense, but there was also some other reason that he just couldn't explain. Well, there was one way he could explain it, but it didn't seem to fit.

There was no way he could be developing feelings for her. No way. They'd barely even spoken, and every time they had there was much hostility. He didn't know anything about her except her name, that she had super powers, a talking cat and that she didn't want to have those super powers anymore. How could he possibly say that he liked anyone when he knew pretty much nothing about them? Nope; it didn't make sense.

When the bell signalled the end of class, he shoved his pencils and pens in the pencil-case and put that and his notebook in his book bag. He stood and looked to his friends as they approached his desk.

"Come on, man. Chow time," his friend Haru said as he held up his lunch box, as if a demonstration was needed.

"Never would have guessed," Kanaye told him, shaking his head and grabbing the bag that had his own lunch in it.

"Good thing I told you then, right?" Haru grinned.

Rolling her eyes, their friend Kiku said, "Yeah, whatever. Let's just go eat. I'm starving."

"You're always starving," Machiko, yet another in their group of friends, pointed out.

"She's right, you know," Haru agreed with a nod as the group began to head out to find a place to eat.

Kiku was much like Serena in the sense that she was usually very hungry, and a bottomless pit when it came to actually eating the food. Many wondered how she could stay as small as she was. Granted she wasn't the skinniest person they'd ever come across, but considering what and how much she ate, she was a small person.

"Too bad we can't eat outside. Stupid rain," Machiko grumbled whilst glancing out the windows as they walked by them down the halls.

"We could go outside, but we'd need to stay under something," Kiku corrected.

"Yeah, and at least it finally _is_ raining. After all that time that there were like clouds in the sky but no rain in sight," Haru said.

"That was just weird," Kanaye put in his two cents, even though he knew full well what had caused the 'cloudy' sky for that long period of time. His voice showed no indication that he knew anything though.

"Any of you remember when it happened before?" Machiko looked to her friends, who gave her blank stares.

"It happened before?" Kanaye asked. This, he didn't recall.

"Yeah. It was about… I don't know, two or maybe three years ago now. I don't remember when exactly. Anyway, it happened before and then just went away all of a sudden," Machiko told them matter-of-factly.

"Oh yeah, I remember that now," Haru nodded. "Wasn't there an earthquake or something, too?"

"Yeah! And people disappeared!" Kiku's face lit up and she hit her fist into the palm of her hand. "But then they found them later in a warehouse or something and they couldn't remember how they'd got there."

"I think I remember hearing about that," Kanaye thought aloud. It was a vague memory, but he was sure he was now remembering the earthquake and the dark sky at the very least. The people have disappeared he didn't much remember, but it didn't seem all too important somehow. 'I wonder if that has anything to do with the Senshi then… and the dragon…' He'd have to find out and of course his best option for doing this was asking one of the Senshi; probably Essa. 'But would she even speak to me is the question.'

The quartet made their way to the front of the school and stepped outside. It was still raining quite hard and the air was thick and muggy around them, but they opted for sitting outside anyway. There was a stone canopy over the doorway and a bench to sit on, so they sat there to eat their lunches. Even as the thunder crashed around them, they stayed outside. Or wanted to. After a while, some teacher they didn't know came along an insisted they come inside before they got struck by lightning. Grudgingly, the group headed inside. After lunch, the school day continued regularly. As did the rain.

* * *

Author's Note: Two things. One, this chapter and I have a love-hate relationship. Mostly because I'm not particularly keen on how little dialogue/action there is and because it's full of flashback-ness. However, I felt that I had to include it and have it all be included in one shot... so... while I like it, I just don't think it's terribly exciting. Oh well. We do, however, get more look at Kanaye in this chapter, which is one aspect I rather like about it.

Second thing, I've been considering doing character art. Anyone interested in seeing some? (No promises, 'cause I'm like that, but I'm considering it.)

-L. Barton


	16. Chapter 15

**Forced  
**_Chapter 15_

As Rini swallowed down the last of her lunch, she made the humming-like sound that people generally made when they wanted to vocalize that they had enjoyed or were enjoying the food. She grinned, even as she drank the last of her milk and then as she proceeded to set the glass down on the table where she was eating.

"Thanks, Lita! That was a good lunch," she praised.

"Well I'm glad you liked it," the elder girl smiled as she collected the plate and the glass from the small table. "Think you have room enough for dessert?"

"Yeah!" Rini said excitedly and added a vigorous nod as well. Of_ course_ she'd have room for dessert! Even if she was _stuffed full_ she'd find room for dessert, especially since Lita's desserts were always the best.

"All righty then." 

Lita was doing _something_ in the kitchen, but even almost standing on the chair in the eating area, Rini couldn't see what. She heard what sounded like a kind of scraping noise, though not a scraping as if something was stuck, just as if something was being picked up off of something else, perhaps with a spatula. It wasn't until Lita turned back towards Rini with a small plate of cookies that she realized what she'd been doing.

"Now, if you don't want to share, I'd suggest eating them up pretty quick," Lita grinned, setting them on the table. "You know how Serena likes to chow down on desserts, and she'll probably be here soon."

Rini nodded again, taking one cookie in each hand and double fisting this dessert eating business. She looked to Lita, who was merely sitting there with a grin on her face, though not touching any of the cookies herself.

"Aren't you going to have any?" Rini asked, and nudged the plate forward a bit to indicate that she'd share – just not with Serena.

"I already had some earlier when I was making them," Lita chuckled. "Besides, I made them for you."

When Lita had gotten up that morning, Rini had still been asleep. She'd taken time, luckily before her own power failed on her, to bake up a small batch of cookies for the girl, considering what she'd been through. Maybe she would have ended up baking something anyway, but this just gave her an excuse.

Darien and Serena had also called earlier in the morning to say that they'd be by maybe when the weather calmed some to see Rini and the three had decided to perhaps head out to the shrine as well. Neither had really said much on the phone, but Lita got a sense that they had something that could be important to share with everyone. She wasn't about to pry.

It was sometime later, whilst Lita had been reading up some new recipes during the power outage, that Rini had arisen. By then, it was closer to noon hour and after sitting around and relaxing for a bit to wake up, Lita had prepared the young girl a late lunch. Lita wanted to ask Rini what had happened to her, but figured that it might be better to wait until everyone was together so that she only had to explain it once.

"Hey, Lita?" Rini's voice snapped Lita out of her reverie.

"Yeah?" she asked, noting that the child had one hand halfway to her mouth with a portion of a cookie in it, but it seemed that that cookie was suddenly forgotten.

"What happened to Essa and Spike? Are they okay?" At the moment, Rini couldn't remember much of what had happened, but she was trying. Slowly, her recollection of the events was coming back, yet she knew that in them she wouldn't find out what had happened to the white haired girl and the feline. She didn't think that they had died, or that they'd been seriously injured; all the same, there was a nagging in the pit of her stomach that even cookies couldn't get rid of.

"Yeah, they're fine. We all made it out of there just fine," Lita told her, watching Rini carefully. She recognized the concern the girl had and began to wonder the same thing that she'd wondered about the girl's parents earlier in the morning. Did she know something that she wasn't telling?

"Where are they now?" Rini continued, seemingly not satisfied with the response she'd been given.

"I'm not sure. Back wherever they're staying, I guess." Lita honestly wasn't sure. 

Where _had_ that guy – what was his name? Kanaye? – taken Essa and Spike? They'd all just kind of let him take the two away and she wondered if it was more that they felt they could trust him or more that they hadn't wanted to take Essa themselves. Surely one of them could have allowed her to stay the night… but they hadn't even offered. Lita felt suddenly guilty, but tried to justify it with the fact that Essa could very well be the enemy. But that alone was getting harder and harder to keep using as justification, all things considered.

"Oh," was all Rini replied with this time and she proceeded to shove the rest of the one cookie in her mouth. She didn't, however, pick up another. 'I don't know what… but something isn't right…' she thought silently. She didn't want to say anything though since she couldn't explain what.

Conveniently enough, any awkwardness that had formed was destroyed by the sudden knock on Lita's apartment door. Giving Rini one last glance for the moment, Lita stood and headed to open the door, figuring it would be Serena and Darien. Briefly looking out a window, she saw that the weather hadn't calmed much (the thunder and lightning had stopped at least), but she guessed they'd decided to come anyway.

"Hey there, Serena. How yah feelin', girl?" Lita asked with a grin as she opened the door in the main entrance to let them in. She watched as they stepped inside and took off their shoes to trade them for pairs of slippers that Lita had laid out for them. They also hung up their rain jackets in the hallway.

"I'm pretty good, I guess. Hate this weather," Serena said with an irritated expression.

Lita just smiled slightly and shook her head before looking to Darien. "How 'bout you?"

"I'm doing okay. Rini awake yet?" he asked, peering around the corner, but not making to move any farther than the entrance. He got the feeling that Lita wasn't about to let them any further into her home just yet.

"Yeah, she got up a while ago. Just finished lunch, in fact," Lita replied and nodded.

"She said anything?" Serena asked quietly.

"Mm," Lita shook her head. "I wasn't about to ask, either. I figured if she had anything to say, might as well wait until we're all together to hear it."

"But?" Darien inquired considering the concerned look on Lita's face.

"Well… I'm not sure exactly. Something just seems off, yah know? She was asking about Essa and Spike, as well," Lita was speaking in a quieter voice now, too.

"It's probably nothing. She probably just has to see for herself that they're safe," Serena guessed.

"Maybe." Lita could only shrug at this point. "Well, anyway. I'm sure she wants to say hi, so go on." She began to usher them into the little kitchen space.

Rini watched as they entered into the main part of the apartment. She'd heard them whispering in the entranceway, but hadn't been able to pick up what they'd said. A sigh escaped her, knowing that they were probably hiding something from her again to 'keep her safe'; like they'd hidden the information they knew about Essa. Regardless of this, she slapped on a smile when she spotted Darien and Serena, followed by Lita.

"Hey there, Rini. What have you been up to this morning?" Darien asked with a kind smile.

"Eating cookies," Rini antagonized purposely, shoving the last of the ones on the plate in her mouth and chewing it visibly with over-exaggeration.

"C-cookies! And you didn't save me any?!" Serena roared, picking up the plate and looking under and over it as if the child had hidden them somewhere.

"Nah-ah," Rini shook her head and grinned despite the fact that her cheeks were bulging slightly with the remainders of the cookie.

"Hmph," Serena pouted and cross her arms after setting the plate back down.

"Here you go, Serena," Lita said with a roll of her eyes, holding out a napkin with two cookies on it. "I saved you two. But that's it!"

"Lita, you're the best!" She hugged her friend and accepted the cookies.

"Mine were probably better," Rini declared. "I bet she burned yours, or worse! Poisoned them!"

"She wouldn't!"

"I bet she did!"

"All right, all right, you two." Darien stood between them and held up his hands. "No hostilities this soon after battle." Both settled down instantly and Serena defiantly shoved one of the cookies in her mouth. "Shall we head out to the shrine then?"

"Might as well," Lita nodded. "As you can see, the power's dead. Nothing better to do."

"Rei's such a party pooper, though. Darien already told me she thinks something's still up," Serena frowned and placed her used napkin on the plate that sat on the table.

"Maybe she changed her mind. I think Mina was probably right when she said that Rei was likely just feeling the after effects of the battle," Lita shrugged.

"Let's head out, then. Whether something else is up or not, it'll kill time," Darien pointed out.

"I don't have a raincoat," Rini piped up as she slipped off the chair whilst they began to head to the entranceway.

"Don't worry, kiddo. I've got an umbrella you can borrow. It's stopped thundering and lightning, so you'll be all right," Lita told Rini and went to searching in the closet for said umbrella. "Ah-hah! See, here it is."

"Thanks," Rini grinned and accepted the umbrella as she pulled on her shoes. The others followed suit.

"We can take the bus, anyway. It'll be quicker and drier," Darien told her and ruffled her hair slightly, to which she protested, but smiled just the same.

Soon they found themselves waiting at the bus stop for the next bus to come around. The rain continued to pour down on them, but they seemed to be amusing themselves. Serena, Lita and Rini were having wars, splashing each other by jumping in puddles as hard as they could while Darien only stood back and laughed at the spectacle.

By the time the bus arrived, the girl's socks and shoes were soaked, but they were still laughing as they climbed aboard. The driver looked at them curiously and, while the girl's ignored the man, Darien just gave a shrug and a smile as if he didn't have an explanation. They found some empty seats and sat down as the bus started moving again.

Because people started staring at them in both irritation and curiousity (the former the more predominant of the two), they quieted down and simply took to sitting in silence and watching the world pass outside.

xxxxxxx

Rei sat in front of her sacred fire, concentrating deeply and making symbols with her hands as she muttered to it. All morning, for that's how long she'd been trying, it had shown her nothing. She was almost positive though that they weren't out of hot water quite yet. She wasn't buying Mina's explanation in the least; when battles had ended before, when they'd _truly_ ended, she didn't feel what she was feeling now.

'Something else is going to happen,' she thought silently. 'The question is: what? And maybe even why? The dragon's gone… I'm pretty sure it's gone. It's kind of like-'

"Hey, Rei!"

The girl nearly leapt out of her skin and turned to see Serena, Rini, Darien and Lita standing in the doorway behind her. Had she been that engrossed in thought that she hadn't heard them even come in?

"Where's everyone else?" Serena asked as she took a seat on the floor.

"Mina insisted that it'd be fine if she went to school and Ami said there was no way she was going to miss the test she had today for Cram School," Rei's voice held slight irritation.

"How'd you manage to not go to school?" Lita inquired and took a seat closer to the wall so she could lean against it.

"I just told gramps I didn't feel too well. He didn't ask any questions," the raven head shrugged.

Lita noticed that the fire was stoked behind Rei as it crackled. "Get anything from it?" She nodded her head in the direction of the flames to indicate what she was speaking of.

Rei turned to look, as if completely unaware that the fire was even there. She stared into it for a moment, looking to see if it would give her any sign of her suspicions being right. Currently, though, it looked like any other fire.

"Nothing. It's completely non-responsive to everything I throw at it."

"See, so maybe you're wrong," Serena piped up.

"I'm so sure I'm not, though," Rei sighed as she stared at the floor. "I don't know what it is, but it's like this nagging feeling that just won't leave me alone no matter what I do."

Rini stared at Rei from where she sat on the floor. Was she feeling the same thing that Rei did? That couldn't be possible, could it? Rini didn't have any psychic powers like that… but like Rei had said, even with thinking this – with thinking anything – the feeling just wouldn't leave her be. She shook her head to try and rid herself of those thoughts.

"So what are we supposed to do until the others get off school?" Darien asked. 'So much for killing time here.'

"Yeah, it's not like we can even go to the arcade with the power the way it is," Serena moaned as the boredom was already beginning to set in.

There was a bright flash around them and then a loud crack of thunder, which caused all of them to jump. Lita got up and took to looking outside, where another flash and another crack filled the sky around them.

"Great, now that's back, too," Serena pouted and hugged Darien, who had placed his arm around her shoulders.

"You'll live," Rei scoffed.

"Yeah, if it doesn't hit me," Serena said. "Or blow out my eardrums."

"Come now, Serena. It's nothing to worry about."

All of them jumped again, but this time because of the new voice that had joined them rather than the thunder and lightning outside. They all quickly turned their attention to the doorway, where they could just see from the light of the fire two felines standing side by side, both sopping wet. Of course neither looked too pleased about it.

"Luna! Artemis!" Rini breathed. "You scared the daylights out of me."

"Sorry about that, Rini," Artemis grinned slightly and shook himself off. "Good to see that you're okay."

"Yes indeed, as well as the rest of you." Luna looked around. "Mina and Ami?"

"School," the group of humans chorused.

"Right then," Luna sighed and sat down to clean off her muddied paws.

"Where have you guys been all this time?" Lita was the first to question.

"Well, we were out looking for information on that guy, like we said we would," Artemis supplied. "That guy's hard to track, though, I tell yah. But we think we finally got him."

"Yeah?" Rei looked interested.

"What guy?" Rini looked at each of them since she hadn't a clue who they were talking about. She saw them exchange glances, as if debating whether to tell her or not. When they didn't say anything after a moment, she spoke up again. "Hello?"

"We're not entirely sure who he is ourselves, but he called himself Kanaye and he seemed to know Essa. She said even she doesn't know much about the guy, but that he was the one to give her, her transformation pendant back," Luna told her carefully. "Artemis and I were tracking him down to see what we could find on him, but it wasn't easy."

"Not to mention that guy knows way too much," Rei said and tried to control the irritation she felt towards him.

"What'd you find on him?" Darien asked when no one else spoke.

"Information-wise, not really anything. We were sure we spotted him getting off a bus to go to school earlier, so it seems that he lives a dual life, like you guys," Artemis picked up again.

"And from what little we were able to watch him, he doesn't seem to have any powers," Luna added.

"Get any clue as to how he knows so much?" Rei asked. That was one of the main things she was concerned with when it came to this guy. It just didn't sit right with her that he knew so much and wasn't displaying any reasons as to why. 'Maybe that's the bad feeling I'm getting… something to do with him,' she wondered silently. She held the pensive look on her face, but didn't share what she'd just thought with her friends.

Luna and Artemis shook their heads and another clap of thunder sounded behind them.

"Wait a minute," the thought suddenly occurred to Lita, "if the schools are open, does that mean the power isn't off everywhere?"

"Right. Some places, though very few at this point, still have power," Luna nodded. "Why?"

She shrugged. "It just dawned on me, is all."

After a short period of silence, they banked on finding something to do as being the best way to pass time. So, they began to hunt around for some board game or _something_ that would amuse them until the others got off of school. It wasn't long before Serena stumbled upon some new comics that Rei had seemed to be hiding from her and even less time before she became engrossed in those. The others, however, continued to hunt for some game, and when they found one, they sat down and began playing.

Mina was the first to arrive after school had let out, and because the game required the players to play in partners, she quickly dragged Serena away from the comic books to join in on the madness. When Ami arrived, she stepped into a full out yelling war as to whether Mina and Serena were following the rules of the game. Of course, Rei was the one yelling at them.

The game was pushed aside, along with the comics and any other distractions. They all sat down in a circle around the small table, which they'd all placed their cups of hot beverages upon. Rei had insisted on having no sweets or desserts on the table; she didn't want there to be any unnecessary distractions.

First they had Rini recount her tale to them, starting from the point where she went to speak to Essa. They were all relieved to find that Essa hadn't been lying, but said nothing of it. She told them of how she and Spike were attacked by the figures of the Dark Senshi and how despite all her efforts, they were just too powerful. Rini told them that she remembered nothing after the figure of Star had vanished because she'd blacked out, only to wake up in Lita's apartment some time later.

They then shared what had happened to them with her, starting from when she'd disappeared to the present. After they'd finished, they all sat in silence again, mulling over it, but then Serena spoke.

"I had a dream," she said, to which they all looked at her. "I dreamt that there was another attack, like the one when we were attacked, Mina. But it wasn't the dragon that was attacking me this time… it was Star."

"Attacking you?" Ami questioned, her brow furrowing.

"I couldn't reach you guys. The communicator was broken. And I couldn't transform either because I lost my broach," Serena continued explaining.

"Is it a premonition?" Luna asked cautiously. It sounded to her very much like a premonition, but she couldn't be sure.

"I don't know." She was staring at the wood grain of the table, as if it was really fascinating. She didn't want to think it was a premonition; really didn't. She wanted with all her heart to believe that Star wasn't evil anymore, but suddenly thinking of the dream again was making her worry.

"Did it feel like a premonition?" Rei tried, oddly not in a demanding tone. She held a very concerned expression on her face and her glance flickered to the dead fire, wondering what it might show now.

She shook her head, but didn't seem to be disagreeing. "I just felt… real…"

"I think we should prepare for the possibility that it _is_ a foreshadowing," Artemis said. "Regardless to what we – what you want to believe, Serena, it's still a possibility. We thought she'd turned for the better last time, and still she ended up killing."

Mina threw her feline a reproachful glare, but knew he was right. He just didn't need to be so insensitive about it.

"What can we do to be ready for her?" Lita asked no one in particular.

"I think we can only continue to be on our guard when she's around," Luna thought it over for a moment. "If she shows signs of reverting back to what she was… then we will have to attack."

"How can you guys be so mean?!" Rini's voice surprised them. Her accusing tone, even more. She'd stood up, her hands balled to fists at her side and her eyes glaring daggers at them.

"Rini, you don't understand-" Darien tried.

"With all she's done this time, you still think that she's going to become some evil thing again? Why can't you just trust her?!" the young girl demanded, ignoring their pained and gaping expressions.

"If you'd been there…" Rei began, but didn't get a chance to finish as the girl charged out of the shrine and into the rain.

Serena stared after her, her eyes full of concern, but she was fighting her own inner war when it came to Essa. She didn't know whether she should look to the past and her dream to tell her how to treat Essa, or whether to go from her own desire to believe there was enough goodness in Essa to conquer any darkness. It didn't help that she couldn't get the echo from the dream to leave her head either…

_"It ends here, Serenity."_


	17. Chapter 16

**Forced  
**_Chapter 16_

Rini sat on the steps of the shrine, having gone no further than there when she'd rushed out. Where could she have gone?

So, on the step she sat, despite the rain pouring down on her. Her outfit was completely soaked and her hair nearly flat against her head, her bangs hanging in front of her eyes. The thunder and lightning had stopped again for the time being, so she had no worry of that.

She thought about what they'd said and what she knew they were thinking. True, she hadn't been there all those years ago. But she was here _now_, saw how things were _now_. Shouldn't _now_ be what mattered?

And even if she was wrong, why were they thinking only of 'taking her down'? Since when did they treat any enemy like that? Like they could only be defeated instead of healed?

"Rini?"

The girl sniffed in the rain and looked to the one who'd spoken. She looked at Serena with eyes that had shed maybe a tear or two, but it was hard to tell because of the rain.

"Can I sit down, Rini?" Serena asked, rather than just taking a seat. She didn't want Rini running away on her; she wanted to be a welcomed presence.

Rini nodded, but reverted to staring at the puddles forming on the steps. She heard Serena sigh from beside her as she sat down, but didn't look at the blonde.

"I know it's hard to understand where they're coming from," Serena spoke suddenly, watching the girl only from the corner of her eyes. She stared instead out at the view from the top of the steps where they sat. "It's hard because you weren't there all those years ago. I get that."

"No you don't," Rini muttered, but loud enough to hear.

"Sure I do. Ever since Essa's come back they've been on edge. They're probably wondering why I'm not on edge," Serena chuckled lightly. "But, no matter what she's done in the past, I've wanted to believe that she's changed for the better, you know? I've wanted to believe that all that is done and over with. So far it looks like it is. But it's harder for them. For some reason they're not forgiving as easily, probably because it's a murderer we're dealing with here. Essa told you that, didn't she?" Serena glanced at her future daughter now.

"Yeah…" she said quietly with a nod.

"The mission of the Dark Senshi was something to do with stopping the future from ever happening. Of course that meant trying to kill Darien and I," Serena said gently, watching for the girl's reaction. While she did see Rini tense slightly, she didn't hear her say anything. "Obviously, they failed, but mostly because of Essa. She did almost kill me at one point, but she was still evil then. When she became good, all she did was protect us, but she did kill her friends."

Rini listened in silence, still staring at the puddles on the steps. She watched as each raindrop splashed into the small puddles and disturbed the surface of the water. In the water, she could see the reflection of the grey sky.

"All along, since Essa has come back, there have been signs that she could return to evil. Even just the grey sky set them on edge, because when that had happened in the past… things went downhill," Serena continued explaining, hoping that she was getting Rini to better understand. She couldn't help but wonder if she'd only end up scaring the child, though. "I mean, now it's just rain, but before…"

"But the dragon," Rini said, looking to Serena with confused eyes.

"Yeah, I haven't forgotten about the dragon… The dragon is new to us. It seems separate, but from what Kanaye's been saying, maybe it's not." The blonde sighed. "And now with mention of my dream they're worried again."

"You shouldn't have told them," Rini returned to staring at the puddles.

"Maybe not, but it has me worried, too. Even looking back at all that's happened this time around, I'm starting to worry. I really want to believe in Essa, but I've seen what she can do. It's frightening, Rini. We have to be careful."

"But…" she began. "But they're looking at it like she has to be destroyed. Isn't there anything we can do to save her?"

Serena shook her head, "I don't know. We've never really had to try."

"Then how did she get away from the evil before?" Her brow furrowed; that didn't make any sense to her. Unless, had she defeated the evil part of her on her own?

"That happened by luck more than trying, I think. It wasn't long after she'd almost taken my life, in fact. The other two Dark Senshi had put her up to attacking me again. Darien attacked her first, and she caught his rose, but it did something to the band around her neck."

"The band?" Rini questioned. Was Serena just making this all up? But then she remembered the forms that the mist had taken… was that what she was referring to?

"Mm," she nodded. "Sailor Universe used it to control them."

"So she wasn't really evil then?"

"It's hard to say, Rini. Remember, she killed her-" she paused, feeling uneasy at the thought of it, "she killed her friends when she wasn't evil or under anyone's control. But anyway, the band snapped off because of whatever the rose had done and she was able to control herself again."

"And then she fought against her friends, who were evil?"

"Yes."

"So she was good! She can still be good now!" Rini whipped around to look at Serena again.

"Like I said, I want to believe that, really, I do. But my dream has me worried now, too. What if?"

"We've got to trust her! And if she does start to look like she's going back to the evil side, we need to help her, not beat her down!" Rini declared. "We need to help her like we've always helped our enemies. We need to help her see the good!"

Serena nodded. "I think so, too, but it might not be as easy as you think."

"We have to try." Rini's expression was stern, as if she was the teenager and Serena was the child instead. "We can't not try."

The elder girl smiled, though with a hint of sadness and stood. "Then we'll try. No matter what the others think. You and I; we'll try." She held out her hand to Rini.

Rini looked up at Serena, and after a moment's thought took her hand. The two headed back towards the shrine.

xxxxxxx

When the light changed, the white haired girl, as well as every other person around her quickly began to walk across the road. Several times she felt herself being hit with an umbrella; of course the people didn't mean it, but it ticked her off just the same. It wasn't even raining today, yet people were still bringing their umbrellas, wary considering that it had rained for the past two days. At least the power had come back on.

She turned the appropriate direction once across the street, fighting some of the current of people to get through, but making it through them anyway. It wasn't like she could just turn around and go the other way since she wasn't going around the city haphazardly. She knew exactly where she was headed at this point.

Essa continued down the street, feeling a tug at her shoulder as her shoulder bag was tugged and jarred around from the people. It wasn't a purse, per se, but rather like a small backpack that rested on the shoulder. She wasn't one for carrying bags around, but the shorts she'd chosen to wear today didn't have any pockets and she wasn't about to leave the hotel without money, ID and her key card at the very least. She'd also shoved a bottle of water in there just in case.

Spike, as she recalled, had been dismayed that she was going to go off without him yet again, but she'd explained where she was going and how she wouldn't be able to bring him along. Even if he did pretend to be a normal cat there, she doubted very much that they would even let cats into the establishment.

"Essa!"

She stopped, which she would soon regret, when she heard someone call her name. Her arms quickly rose to defend herself as the people began to bump into her even more. She moved out of the way, nearer to the window of a building before she lowered her arms and began to look around.

'Who was that?' she wondered silently. The voice sounded familiar, but not familiar enough that she knew right off the bat who it was. Her inquiring expression fell as soon as she saw who it was that had been calling her. With a sigh and a slight roll of the eyes, she turned to join the crowd again.

"Hey, just going to ignore me?" the voice asked now and she felt someone take hold of her hand to stop her from leaving.

"I was trying," she said, wrenching her hand free of the boy's grasp. "What do you want?" She stopped again and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I spotted you in the crowd and thought I'd say hi and maybe talk," Kanaye said, rubbing the back of his head as if he actually wasn't quite sure what he was doing there at all and was making it all up on the fly.

"Yeah? Well, I'm kind of busy," Essa dismissed, heading towards the crowd again.

"I'll go with you, then."

She looked over and saw Kanaye quickly fall into step with her. "And who invited you?"

"I did. Where are you going?" he shrugged as if it was nothing.

"You who seems to know all else doesn't know?" Essa questioned sarcastically.

"I don't know 'all else'," he shook his head and gave her a look that asked if she was an idiot.

"You know too much, that's for sure," Essa continued. "You weren't even a part of the events two years ago and yet you know all of what happened."

"Like hell I know all that happened and I even only partly know what's going on now," Kanaye snapped, becoming frustrated with her sarcastic and snappy attitude towards him. Maybe he shouldn't have approached her at all.

"Then how did you get my pendant? How did you know it was mine? How did you even know where to find me? And how did you know about," she paused, her eyes shifting around them, "the others?" She was sure he'd catch on to what she meant by that. She couldn't just come out and say 'Senshi' though. Some around her might think her an extreme videogame addict or something, but she wasn't taking the chance.

"_I_ didn't know. _It_ did," Kanaye explained, also avoiding using terms that would cause people to question his sanity.

"It?" Essa gave him an odd look.

"It has wings, flies. Black. Misty," he described vaguely. "You and I can both hear it… well… could."

Essa looked away so not to run into anyone. Her expression turned pensive however, considering all this. It seemed reasonable that the dragon could have been feeding him the information. But now the question was why had it been feeding him the information? And…

"Why you?" she asked now, looking to him again. She saw that he was watching her carefully, albeit mostly out of the corner of his eye, but still watching her.

"'Cause I could hear it and I responded," Kanaye said with a shrug. "I don't know if anyone else heard it. I didn't bother asking," he answered her next question as she opened her mouth to ask it.

"Are you sided with that thing then?" The thought suddenly occurred to her and she wondered if she should be punching this guy's lights out rather than walking beside him.

"Have I not been helping you all this time?"

"_You_ threw me back into this mess. I could have easily just stayed in Russia, without this nonsense. I could have continued to live normally with my uncle, aunt and cousins. Could have continued to go to school and see my shrink. Could have-" she started rambling.

"You see a shrink?" Kanaye looked to her suddenly, an eyebrow raising in question. He saw her nod absently, as if it was so normal that it didn't even matter. "Why?"

"Because of what happened _last_ time I was here and a part of this. Because I ran away from home when I was twelve," she said. Why she was telling him this, she hadn't a clue. But it didn't seem to hurt. Not like it was some deep dark secret that she'd run away from home.

"You ran away from home?" Kanaye asked, following after her as she suddenly turned into a store. Once inside, he saw that it looked like a café or something of the likes. Dropping his previous question, he turned to another one. "This is your being 'busy'?" He saw her turn and throw him an irritated look.

"No one invited you, pal," she told him sharply.

She looked around the small and incredibly packed café. It hadn't changed much, she determined, since the last time she'd been there, but she noticed that they'd had the walls repainted, a new counter/cashier area put in and the tables were arranged differently. She took her place in line, knowing that just because she'd been here before didn't mean she could cut it.

Kanaye was glancing around as well, standing in line beside her. He spotted the café's name on the wall, and something about it triggered familiarity, or at least that he should know the name, but he couldn't figure out what. As his eyes gazed around the layout, it didn't feel familiar in the sense that he'd been there, but there was something else about it. 

"So, what are we doing here?" Upon the look Essa threw him, Kanaye decided to rephrase that. "Right, what are _you_ doing here?"

"Stuff," she replied simply and turned back towards the front of the line.

It was hard to see the cashier at the moment, but she had two scenarios in mind. Either it would be someone she knew and she would speak with them or it wouldn't be and she'd simply order something and leave. End of story, nothing more to it. Either way, her tag-along would have no idea what was going on.

When they reached the front of the line, Kanaye caught Essa smile. It wasn't a happy smile, really, more like a devious smile. He looked confusedly from Essa to the cashier, who seemed to be replacing the receipt paper roll in the cash register. He failed to see why that would warrant such a grin.

It wasn't like the girl looked funny or anything. Her short, dyed brown hair was pulled back in a pony tail with a hairnet around it. She wasn't incredibly short or insanely tall. She had a regular build. Her uniform was normal and wasn't put on backwards or anything. Just what caused Essa to grin like that?

"Sorry, I'll be with you in a moment," the cashier, an older teenaged girl said as she fumbled with the receipt paper.

"No rush. Not like there're any gunmen behind me. Not that I know of, anyway," Essa replied, leaning slightly on the counter.

She received a look of utter disbelief and shock from both the cashier and Kanaye, but the cashier's expression soon turned to one of amusement.

"Ah, gee. That's too bad. No need to play hero today, huh, Essa?" the cashier grinned.

"I try, really I do. But I think they're all afraid I'll punch 'em in the face," Essa laughed and was soon joined by the cashier.

Someone cleared their throat behind them.

"I have a break in ten minutes. Order something or go away until then," the cashier grinned, throwing her apologies to the impatient man standing farther back in the line.

"Not coffee," Essa told her.

"Tea it is then. Any preference?" the cashier rung it up.

"Nope."

"All right, so chemically altered." Both girls laughed again. "You getting anything?" she turned to Kanaye, not even bothering to ask if the pair were together. They were standing side by side, so she just assumed.

He looked to Essa, who shrugged in a 'suit yourself' kind of way. "Nothing."

"All right then," the girl gave him an odd look, but her eyes went back to Essa. "Price is still the same, so cough it up, girl."

After she'd paid, they stepped aside for the next customer to order what they wanted. When Essa had collected her tea from another worker (one who she didn't recognize), they headed to an empty table and sat down. Essa set down the tea and removed her shoulder bag and hung it on the back of the chair. She sat there quietly for a moment and waited for her tea to cool down.

"What was that all about?" Kanaye finally asked.

Essa lowered the drink and seemed to be debating whether or not to tell him. In the end, she grinned slightly and shrugged, feigning a look of innocence and taking a drink of the beverage.

"Come on, you don't say stuff like that to random people," Kanaye prodded, leaning back in the chair and watching her. 

It dawned on him that this was probably the first time that he'd seen her smile and display any sort of happiness. Every other time they'd encountered it was before battle or there was much hostility or distress. Now, though, she seemed like a normal teenager; as if nothing was wrong. As if she wasn't part of some super group of girls who fought bad guys.

'Does it really affect her that much?' he wondered silently.

"Maybe I do say that to random people," she said with another shrug. "Maybe I'm just insanely weird… or just plain insane. Remember, I do see a shrink, after all."

"And these random people just play along?" Kanaye challenged.

"Sure. I have a sign that says, 'I'm insane! Humour me!' written on it." She grinned again.

She suddenly thought that she should have come by here sooner. Obviously this was a better atmosphere to be in, especially since people she knew still worked here… or at least one of them did. She was actually half-surprised that the girl hadn't attacked her from across the counter and hugged her to death. They hadn't known she was coming, after all.

"Of course you do. I must have just missed that whole bit," Kanaye continued sarcastically.

"Nah, you're just in the loony bin with the rest of us," Essa told him.

"What's that about the loony bin?" The girl was suddenly standing before their table, but she soon pulled another chair up and sat down.

"It's a fun place to hang out?" Essa tried with a grin.

"Of course, and you'd know all about that, wouldn't you, Essa?"

"Naturally. You got to remember, Mine, that I ran away from home," Essa said pointedly, taking another drink of her tea.

"Speaking of running away from home, how's that worked out for you?" the girl, Mine, apparently, asked now with a shake of the head. She removed the hairnet for the time being and shoved it in the pocket of her work shirt.

"Why do you think I'm here now?" Essa joked, but saw the look Mine gave her. "It's fine, it's fine. I'm here on vacation."

"Vacation?" Mine cocked an eyebrow in question.

"Mhm. Shrink lady wanted me to revisit. She's determined that I'm 'ready to cope'," Essa said all dramatically, despite the sinking feeling in her stomach and the thought that she'd never be able to cope with what had happened here.

"I see. So, this guy here," Mine motioned towards Kanaye, who'd been looking back and forth between them as they spoke like a cat watching tennis on the television, "He your boyfriend or something."

"Not," Essa said simply. "He's my stalker."

"Gunmen and now stalkers. What ever will we do with you?" Mine laughed. "So, who are you then?"

"Kanaye, and it's just as she said," he decided to play along. "Stalker."

"As long as you don't carry a gun," Mine chuckled. "I'm Mine. And judging by your expression during all this, I take it Essa hasn't filled you in on any of this whole 'gunman' and 'hero' stuff, has she?"

Kanaye shook his head. For a moment he'd wondered if by the hero stuff she'd been referring to the Senshi, but Mine didn't seem to know anything about that at all. She wasn't being choice-conscious of her words. She was saying these things like they were common knowledge around here.

"So nice of her." Mine shook her head in mock disappointment as she looked to Essa, who only shrugged and took another drink of her tea. "Anyway, she used to work here with me. One day this crazy guy comes in trying to rob the place, she plays hero and bam, he shoots her in the shoulder. See, look, there," Mine pointed to a tile in the ceiling. "He ended up shooting the roof, too. We had to replace the tile, of course, but still."

Kanaye, definitely shocked by the story, turned to look at Essa after looking at the ceiling.

"I'm not dead, right? It was nothing," Essa told him shortly.

"Nothing, my foot. If the cops hadn't come you probably _would_ be dead," Mine's expression turned to a serious one and her smile had faded.

Essa waved it off as if it was nothing, yet again. She and Mine fell into a small argument about what had happened and how Essa very well could have died that day, but Kanaye tuned it out.

'That's why this place is familiar,' he thought to himself. 'I remember, now, hearing about that or seeing it in the paper or something. And then it was on the news about how she was a missing person and then she disappeared from the hospital… I had no idea it was Essa, though.' He didn't know why he hadn't put two and two together, but he figured that maybe he'd just not remembered the name, despite how odd it was.

"So how long have you been here?" Mine gave up on the argument with a sigh. Might as well return to normal, civil conversation.

Essa was thrown by the question, puzzled by it even. How long _had_ she been here? Did she arrive just yesterday? Had she ever really left and gone to Russia at all? Maybe she'd been here the entire time these past two years? Her face contorted into one of thought as she tried to remember just how long it had been since she'd returned to Japan.

"Let's see," she said, though counted off the days and events that had happened in her head. "Hmm, a little over a week?" she tried, glancing slightly at Kanaye, who only shrugged. That seemed about right, though.

"A week? And you're only coming to visit now?" Mine chided jokingly. She was curious to know, however, why Essa hadn't come to visit before then if she'd been back in Japan for that long.

"I've been kind of busy," Essa grinned nervously. She hadn't any idea how else to put it.

"Busy? Doing what?" Mine gave her an odd look, her dark eyes showing inquiry.

"Hero stuff," Essa said as she leaned forward to take her cup of tea again. "Top secret. Can't tell you."

Mine shook her head and sighed, getting the sense that her friend wasn't about to tell her. "Fine then, be that way. Do hero stuff without including the rest of us!"

"Speaking of the rest of you," Essa began. "Where are they? Or are they too cool for this place anymore?"

Mine chuckled, "Actually, Eikou did quit to go do some other job; he says it pays more. Sasara just has today off for family stuff or something." The girl shrugged.

"How have you all been?" Essa continued.

"I've been good and as far as I know they're doing okay themselves. Same as always, you know?" Mine grinned and saw Essa nod.

They all sat in silence for a few moments, just staring around the room and trying to find something to say. The conversation of the others around them was enough to cause a quiet droning around them, but other than that and the cash register, there was silence

"Hey, Mine! Back to work!" the boss, someone that Essa didn't recognize, called to the girl suddenly.

"Haha, oh yeah. I almost forgot that I'm at work!" Mine laughed, standing. "It's good to meet you, Kanaye. And definitely great to see you again, Essa."

"Yeah," Kanaye nodded.

"See you later," Essa said with a wave as Mine turned to leave. She was startled when Mine turned back towards the table very suddenly, as if she'd forgotten something.

"Oh! I know. You planning on going to the Star Festival?" Mine asked Essa, the idea suddenly popping into her head with the mention of 'see you later'.

"I had shoved it into my imaginary itinerary, yes," Essa said, raising a questioning eyebrow.

"Good! Then maybe we can meet up there. You'll have a chance to see Eikou and Sasara again!" Mine said cheerfully.

"All right then. See you there," Essa grinned, raising her cup in farewell. "You better go, the boss is going to kill you." She saw, looking past Mine, that the man was practically fuming at the doorway that led to the 'employees only' area.

"Ee, yeah. See you!" Mine gave a feigned panicked look and returned to behind the counter, explaining and giving her apologies to her boss as she put her hairnet back on her hair.

"That was… interesting," Kanaye said finally, turning to look at Essa again.

"What? Didn't think I had any friends outside of the hero business?" she asked, having no issue with saying 'hero business' considering how their conversation had just been going. If anyone had been listening to the previous conversation and had stayed with it to this one, then they would figure they were talking about the same thing.

"It really didn't seem like it," Kanaye told her truthfully.

Essa set down the cup again and seemed to consider it, her expression clouded to one that Kanaye had often seen on her face. He kicked himself mentally for causing her to return to it now.

"I guess you're right. Ah, I need a life," she sighed, brushing it off.

"Well, you are going to that festival, unless you were lying," he pointed out.

"True enough. I had only intended to go to get away from all this and get some semblance of normality. Looks like that could actually happen now," she grinned slightly.

Kanaye only nodded in reply, wondering if she actually believed what she was saying. It didn't seem so.

"Well," she said suddenly, snapping him out of his reverie. "If you're going to keep playing stalker get your ass in gear, 'cause I'm leaving," she said after draining the rest of her tea down and standing to pick up her bag. "I've got at least one more question I could ask, anyway." She watched as Kanaye stood to join her. "All right then, here we go."

The pair left the café in silence, for the moment.


	18. Chapter 17

**Forced  
**_Chapter 17_

Kanaye and Essa took care as they stepped out into the crowd of the street once again, but quickly found their own places in the current of people heading in the direction they'd come from before. For the most part, Kanaye was simply following the girl, unsure of where she was heading and yet having a feeling that it wasn't just some aimless wander. After a minute of silence between the two, Kanaye decided to speak up.

"So, where are you headed now? Any more old friends you're off to see?" Kanaye asked, though became puzzled when he saw her expression fall slightly from the corner of his eye.

"No." Quickly, she changed the subject, "Since I have yet to see anyone else, I'll ask you this, because, if I recall correctly, you were there when we came back from the lovely place." Seeing him nod, she continued, "Then maybe you can explain to me how I got back to my hotel after passing out? Who was it that took me there?"

"I did."

"You did?"

"That's what I said."

"And just how did you know where I was staying?" Essa cocked a brow, wondering silently if he really was a stalker. Kanaye seemed to pick up on this.

"Look, I don't follow you around, not including today. I just knew," Kanaye replied quickly, ready to defend himself from an attack.

"Just knew? Like you just knew about the others and me? Like you just knew about the whole situation?" Essa questioned and now her expression turned to a troubled one that was laced with shock.

"Right, kinda like that."

"Then the dragon must still be alive…" she thought aloud without considering her words. No one else seemed to notice her though, other than the fact that she had stopped walking and was quite clearly in thought. People grumbled as they had to dodge her.

"What? No! There's no way." Kanaye stopped as she did, regardless of the protest around them. "Everything is back to normal. No more whispering, no more dark sky for no reason."

"But what you just said, how else could you have known? I'm inclined to believe that you haven't been stalking me, so that only leaves the dragon. Unless there's something else we've completely overlooked." Essa thought aloud more. Her eyes flickered briefly to Kanaye before she stared at the lines of the sidewalk and the moving feet again. "I don't like this."

"Maybe you're just looking too much into this. You've been dealing with this for so long that you just jump at anything that might look like danger," Kanaye tried to reason and yet he didn't believe his own words.

"You may be right that I do always keep one eye open for danger, but this just isn't right. How else could you know?" She looked to him with a demanding gaze; either he was to give explanation or else they had something new to worry about.

"Look. I don't know how I knew, all right? But I'd bet my life that it wasn't the dragon," Kanaye told her slowly, resisting a slight cower under her gaze. It was clear to him that she was truly troubled by this.

Essa began walking again, her stride long and determined. Kanaye followed suit, and when he fell into step with her again, she spoke. "You shouldn't make bets like that. They're liable to come back and bite you in the ass."

"Just stop worrying about it. You're going to give yourself a stomach ulcer if you worry too much," Kanaye insisted.

"If only there were some way to be sure…" Essa disregarded him for the moment, consumed by the thought of wanting to be sure she was wrong. She really did want to be wrong, but everything she saw at the moment told her that she was right. That the dragon wasn't gone at all. 'Maybe just in hiding…' she thought silently.

Her walking was now aimless, her thoughts too preoccupied with other things to the point that she didn't care where she was going. It didn't seem that she was completely out of it, however, as she still managed to stop at stoplights just fine and not walk out into the middle of traffic. Standing there among the people, she somehow got an idea.

"Eureka," she said suddenly.

"Eur-whata?" Kanaye looked at her oddly, wondering what the hell she'd just said.

"I'll go see Rei," Essa pondered aloud. "She can read the fire and tell me if there's something we should be looking out for."

"Rei being Mars, right?" Kanaye asked, just to make sure he was getting the people right.

"Mhm. But before I go there, there's someone else I'm going to get first."

"Yeah, who?"

xxxxxxx

"Welcome back, Essa," Spike greeted when he heard the door to the hotel room open. He knew it was her just from sensing her, but he did also have his natural sense of smell. He was surprised, however, to see Kanaye walk into the room with her. The feline cocked his head to the side in question.

"Stalker," Essa explained the cat's unvoiced question. "Come on, we're heading over to Rei's."

"What? Why?" Spike leapt down from the chair he was sitting on, walking over to the bed where Essa had taken to sitting for a moment. Out of the corner of his eye, he carefully watched his Senshi's 'stalker'.

"The dragon may still be alive," Essa told him.

"Is this true?" Spike looked quickly to Kanaye, knowing that he seemed to know a lot more about the dragon than anyone else.

"She seems to think so."

Spike could clearly see the concern on the boy's face, but he had a feeling that the concern wasn't directed at the possibility of the dragon. Turning to look at Essa, Spike asked, "What makes you think the dragon is still alive? Just the other day you were saying it was gone."

"That was before I knew how Kanaye knew so much about the Senshi. The dragon would tell him things, Spike. The dragon led him to find us, and told him of the Senshi and all that. He was the one who brought us back to the hotel, too after we came back from that dark world or wherever. How else could he have known?"

"I see your point. But, looking at the bigger picture, there is nothing else to show that the dragon is still alive. For all we know, your powers could have been leading him in the right direction," Spike tried.

"That's actually not too farfetched an idea, Essa. Like I said, you shouldn't worry about it," Kanaye said with a nod.

The room fell to silence and Essa stared at the floor, taking into consideration what they'd said. She was also slightly frustrated that they didn't believe her. Her eyes narrowed a tad as she stared at the carpet, but then her brow furrowed.

'Could I be overreacting?' she questioned silently, trying to calm her thoughts. "I have to be sure," she finally said aloud.

She stood and took a few steps towards the door before stopping. With her fists clenched at her sides, she turned to look back at the pair of males. Her eyes, they could see, read too much worry as well as conviction to be quelled by words alone.

"Whether you come or not, I'm going to Rei. She'll be able to tell me for sure," Essa told them before heading towards the door again.

Kanaye and Spike looked to each other before following after her. Neither wanted to leave her by herself when she was in such a state. Who knew what would happen to her? When they caught up to her out in the hallway, Spike rubbed against her leg to show he was there. The girl bent and picked up her feline before making room for him in her shoulder bag.

"Remember, animals aren't supposed to be here. Act like a stuffed toy or something," Essa warned the cat, who had complied even before she said this.

"If Rei says the dragon is gone, will it put your mind at rest?" Kanaye asked as they waited for the elevator to come to their floor.

"Yes. I may not be too fond of Rei, but I trust her powers."

The elevator dinged to show that it was up to their floor. The door shuddered open and the teens let the few people inside it step out before they stepped in. Essa leaned against the wall as the doors closed and she set her shoulder bag on the ground while they began their decent.

"You're heavy, Spike," she commented dryly, looking down at him with a playful scolding expression. The feline made no reply and Essa only chuckled. "Good stuffed animal."

Kanaye rose a brow at her and looked back and forth between Essa and the cat. It seemed to him that she was trying to act normally now, but he could tell she was still anxious. He sighed quietly and leaned against the wall adjacent to the one Essa was leaning against. His eyes travelled to the floor numbers as the elevator dinged again and came to another stop. He figured more people were coming on since this definitely wasn't the ground floor yet.

The door opened to reveal a man with a younger girl, presumably his daughter holding his hand. The pair entered into the elevator and the man looked at the keypad, but didn't press any of the buttons since the ground floor one was already glowing. He smiled and bowed a bit as he glanced at Essa and Kanaye, but didn't say anything. The young girl, on the other hand, had noticed something very interesting. Or, at least it was interesting to her.

"Kitty!" she said, letting go of her father's hand and taking the few steps to Essa's bag. All three of the older people looked to her.

"No, no. Don't touch. It's not yours," the man said, taking hold of the girl's arm to prevent her from grabbing the cat.

"But daddy!" the girl protested, only having touched a bit of the cat's fur.

"I'm sure the lady doesn't want you touching her things," the man told his daughter, coming down the her eye level. "You have your own stuffed animals at home."

"That's a real kitty! Can't I have a real kitty?" the girl pouted.

Kanaye glanced at Spike to see his reaction, but he remained unmoving. The teen glanced then to Essa, to see if she would have any reaction, but her expression was calm, except for what he thought was amusement dancing in her eyes.

"Don't be silly! That's not a real kitty," the girl's father insisted, glancing at the cat as if to make sure, but it hadn't moved since they got on the elevator. He was sure that if it had been a real cat that it would be moving about and struggling to get out of the bag. 'It's odd that one her age would be carrying a stuffed animal, but it can't be real.'

He jumped slightly as the elevator dinged again and he looked up to see the ground floor symbol lit up. As the doors shuddered open again, he stood and took his daughter's hand as the girl picked up her bag and made to exit the elevator.

"Sorry about that," he said apologetically, bowing both for this reason and as she passed.

"Don't worry about it," Essa grinned slightly, offered her small bow of the head and stepped out into the lobby, Kanaye following after her as she did so.

"What would you have said if the man had believed the girl?" Kanaye asked Essa as they walked through the loud lobby. 

People were milling about, heading to their rooms, checking in and out, or sitting around reading, talking or waiting. There was even a lady yelling at someone at the front desk for poor room service or something like that. Everyone seemed to be in their own little world.

"As if he would have believed her. The only way he would have believed her would have been if he knew anything about all this and was involved," Essa scoffed. "If someone had come up to you before you knew all about it, would you have believed them?"

"I would have told them they were nuts," Kanaye told her, glancing at the bag with the cat in it.

"See, there you go."

xxxxxxx

Rei was surprised at the trio that she saw walking up the steps to her shrine. Of all people, she hadn't exprected the black and white cat, the Senshi and the strange boy to be coming to see her. She stopped her idle sweeping (she'd only been doing it to kill time) and leaned it against the wall of the building. The raven headed girl opened her mouth to speak, but instead found herself leaping in surprise as her grandfather seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"How can I help a lovely young lady like yourself?" the elderly man asked with a smile on his face and his hand clasped together in front of him.

Essa only looked down at the short man in complete surprise, taking an involuntary step back even. The only thing she could muster was an unintelligent 'uh'. She hadn't much else in way of ideas for how to react; this wasn't the kind of thing that happened to her everyday.

"Grandpa! Leave them alone!" Rei protested, stomping over to him and threatening to deck him upside the head.

"Them?" the elderly man asked. He looked around and noticed Kanaye standing there, having missed him the first time. "Oh! A strapping young lad! Would you like a job?"

"Grandpa!" Rei snapped, dragging the man away now. "Don't you have someone else to bug?"

"I'm not bugging them!"

Essa, Kanaye and Spike stood there dumbfounded, watching the spectacle of the man being dragged away by his granddaughter.

"That was… odd," Kanaye finally said.

"To say the least," Spike agreed. He recalled having seen it happen maybe once a long while ago when he'd been sticking close to the other Senshi, but hadn't thought that it would happen again.

The three stood there, looking around as they waited for Rei to come back. The leaves on the trees surrounding the shrine rustled in the small breeze that stirred around them and there were a few birds, but otherwise it was silent.

Essa stared at the building, as if trying to peer through the walls and see the place where the fire would be lit. Of course she only saw the walls of the building, but continued to stare anyway, as if transfixed. She didn't doubt that it would have this power, either, considering it was a shrine and all. She shook her head as she remembered the battles that had taken place there all those years ago and then her attention turned to the returning footsteps.

"Just ignore my grandpa," Rei said as she returned. "He does that to everyone. I think he's even done that to the enemies a few times."

Essa blinked in disbelief. "Really?"

"Yeah. So, what do you guys want? I doubt you're here for a visit." Rei looked from Essa, to Kanaye to Spike suspiciously. She didn't like the fact that they were here; it meant something was up. And Serena's dream came to mind again and she was instantly all the more wary of Essa's presence.

"I want you to do a reading with the fire," Essa said directly, getting right to the point and giving Rei a serious look.

"Excuse me?" Rei demanded. 'Who the hell does she think she is? Coming in here and making demands?'

"I need to know if the dragon is still out there somewhere," Essa told her, ignoring the put off tone of Rei's voice.

"Don't you think I've already done readings for that? The fire isn't giving any indication of anything," Rei told her and crossed her arms over her chest. Though she said this, she was inwardly beginning to wonder if she should try another reading. Considering how she'd felt since the end of the battle and now this… maybe there was something up.

"See, I told you there was no way," Kanaye said, looking to Essa.

"You're sure?" Essa demanded, ignoring him for a moment.

An uneasy silence formed between the group and the wind swept through again, yet still softly. It was just as if it were reminding them it was there. Essa stared hard at Rei, and Rei stared back with equal force.

"Rei." Essa said this as the girl didn't answer. "Are you sure?"

"The fire shows nothing," Rei answered.

"But you don't believe it?" Essa wagered. She saw Rei give a tentative nod and continued. "Why wouldn't it give a proper reading?"

"I have no idea. It had no trouble reading the dragon before, so it doesn't make sense why it wouldn't now."

"Is there any possibility that you two are just worry warts?" Spike piped up. "I realize the gravity of this situation, but what if you're both just looking too much into it? What do the others think?"

"They think nothing's wrong and that we don't have to worry about the dragon anymore," Rei said, purposely neglecting to mention their concern about Essa.

"Then maybe you two should just give it a rest. Seriously, everything is back to normal," Kanaye told them. When he saw Essa throw a glare in his direction, he amended what he said, "Well, normal in way of no enemies anyway."

"I don't like the fact that Rei also thinks that there's a possibility that it's not gone, too," Essa began. "Now it seems even more likely to me that we should be on the lookout."

"Whether it's out there still or not, there's nothing we can do until it shows itself again. Obviously normal ways of looking for it aren't working. So if it is there, and I'm not saying it is, then we have no way of tracking or finding it right now. It'll have to make an appearance before we can do anything," Spike told them. "I don't see how it could have survived anyway. You did say it got a blast from the Silver Crystal, right?"

"Well, yeah, but still," Essa tried feebly, but saw his point. She felt like a child as the feline shook his head at her feeble protest.

"But nothing. For now, we should just go back to things the way they were before all this," Spike insisted. "If something happens, we'll deal with it then."

"Fine," Essa conceded with a slight growl, it seemed. She looked up at Rei. "If anything shows up, let me know," she ordered. 'I'm not running away this time,' she added in thought. 'This time, it's going down.'

"You do the same," Rei nodded.

Essa nodded and turned to leave without so much as a goodbye. Kanaye and Spike followed after her. As they descended the steps, Essa shoved her hand in the pockets of her shorts and seemed to be looking ahead, but wasn't really paying attention to what was in front of her.

Rei stared after them, her brow furrowed in thought.

'I have to tell the others… but they probably will just say what they were saying before. I don't think the fact that Essa suspects something too is going to make a difference for them. Wait, I didn't even ask her why she thinks it's still around. I don't know if it'll make a difference, but…'

Rei ran to the edge of the steps, hoping that they didn't get too far. She saw that they were almost to the bottom, but not asking them didn't sit right with her. She had to know.

"Hey!" she called down and she saw them all turn to look at her oddly. Even someone who had been walking by paused a moment before continuing on quickly. As she saw this other person, she figured she better not just shout her question down the steps and opted instead for going to meet them. "Why do you think that the dragon could still be around?" Rei asked when she was close enough to them.

"Because he's still finding out things that he shouldn't know," Essa told her, motioning towards Kanaye.

"What?" Rei asked, quite confused by the explanation.

"The dragon would tell me things," Kanaye supplied. "About the Senshi, about Essa and anything else that goes with all that."

"So that's how you know so much…" Rei breathed in shock, but found that it made some semblance of sense. "So it's still telling you things?"

"No, but I knew things that I couldn't have known without some external force telling me," Kanaye shifted uneasily. He felt that he was only going to fuel their fire now, and didn't want to, but he knew that if he didn't supply that information, then Essa would.

"Right, so I think that the dragon is still around," Essa nodded. "How else could he know these things?"

"Essa, just let it go," Spike sighed irritably. "Like I said, I know this isn't something to be taken lightly, but I think you're just putting too much weight on it. Let's just go." The cat turned to leave, apparently whether she was going to follow or not. Kanaye gave the girls one last glance before he followed the cat.

Essa looked to them, but didn't make to leave just yet. Her gaze turned back to Rei. "I'm worried, Rei. Considering all that's happened, and I mean _all_," she stressed, hoping that Rei would pick up that she meant the past, too, "we can't just brush this off."

"I agree, but we're the only ones that think this. I don't know what we can do except maybe wait to see if something happens, like Spike said." Rei watched Essa closely, noting that this concern was genuine, but still wondering if the dream might be a premonition. At the moment, she saw no indication of this in the other's eyes.

"You coming, or what?" Kanaye called up the steps from where he stood. A puzzled look was on his face, wondering what the two could be talking about.

"I'll be on the lookout," Essa said and turned to leave again.

"Me, too." Rei saw Essa wave her acknowledgement of what she'd just said as she went down the steps to join the cat and the other teen.

Rei turned and headed back up the steps after a moment, deep in thought once again. Now she had even more reason to believe that something was amiss and she didn't like it.


	19. Chapter 18

**Forced  
**_Chapter 18_

Essa watched as Spike ran off into the crowd, likely to follow closely behind her in the shadows. The area was packed, though what else was she to expect from a festival? There were people milling around everywhere though, some in casual dress while others were dressed more traditionally. Personally, Essa had opted for casual dress, deciding that that would be optimal should she need to move all of a sudden.

There were lanterns strung all around, the sky having already almost completely darkened. The oranges, reds and other colours lit up the area, highlighting the booths, shops and any other areas of interest, as well as the roadway. Looking up, one would see the buildings were somewhat lit up, too. Despite the darkness that mother nature had brought down upon them, it wasn't actually all that dark at all.

Glancing around, Essa wondered how Spike was making out. She hadn't the foggiest how her feline friend was going to make it through the crowds without getting trampled, but he hadn't wanted to stay back in the hotel all by his lonesome when the vacation part of their vacation was actually kicking in. She sighed and shook her head, ensuring that her belongings were kept close to her as people passed. She didn't want to be the victim of a pickpocket.

"So, Essa, what's this I hear about a boyfriend?"

Essa whipped around, startled by the sudden voice speaking to her and her expression held a cocked eyebrow. What was this nonsense that the voice was spouting?

Her look softened upon seeing who it was. Though time had passed and the person surely looked different, she could still tell just who it was. Now that she thought about it, the person's voice hadn't changed much either.

"Eikou, you should know better than to listen to Mine. She makes stuff up," Essa smiled, studying the young man.

By her judgment, his facial structure had changed, though only slightly, becoming more defined. His hair, she noticed, was still much the same, though it had darkened from the light brown it was to one much darker, causing her to wonder if it was dyed before or dyed now. She discovered, slightly dismayed, that he was still quite the bit taller than her, but she didn't make comment of it. It seemed to her also that he'd lost a bit of weight since they'd last encountered, though maybe it was just the way his casual garments were hanging off his form.

"I did not make it up!" Mine appeared a moment later, dressed in shorts and a t-shirt. "I saw him for myself," she harrumphed, crossing her arms.

"Don't know what part of stalker you didn't understand," Essa began, but was cut off.

"Stalker?" Eikou questioned and Essa caught a tone of concern in his voice.

"Harmless, I assure you," Essa waved it off.

"Stalker, right. What kind of guy stalks a girl around unless he wants to date her?" a fourth voice joined the conversation.

Essa sighed heavily, seeing that there was no way she could explain it without explaining everything, which she wasn't about to do.

"Is he at least hot?"

"Sasara!" Mine protested, but Essa only laughed.

"What? It was a simple question," Sasara, the fourth in the group, grinned slyly, but also had to dodge Mine's attempt to kick her in the shins.

"Look, obviously you don't believe me, but he's definitely not my boyfriend," Essa tried, but only saw the raven headed girl shake her head.

"Of course I don't believe you," Sasara smiled.

"How about instead of standing around here and speculating whether this guy is or isn't her boyfriend, we enjoy the festival?" Eikou glanced at the three girls and ran a hand through his short hair.

"Jealous, are we?" Sasara grinned knowingly.

"Not," Eikou insisted, though as he insisted this, he made eye contact with no one. "I think there's a parade soon."

"I thought that was in the afternoon?" Mine questioned as the quartet began to walk through the crowds.

The conversation continued and Essa could only grin. She was glad to be among these people again and discovered she'd missed them more than she'd thought. They'd all changed a little bit, in appearance and personality, but they were still the same trio of people she first encountered back at the café those years ago. It made her happy that they could still be as friends, even though they'd been apart.

Spike was indeed following closely behind, puzzled as to who these people were as he didn't recognize them. They weren't Senshi, and they weren't people Essa had known from school, but they were quite obviously her friends. Just the way she smiled and laughed with them told the feline this and so he was more following her as an observer, rather than a guardian. He felt no need to be wary of these people, and if there was need to be wary, they were good at hiding it.

So far, he'd only been spotted by one person, who passed him off as a stray and grabbed something to try and shoo him away. By the time the person had grabbed her shooing item, however, Spike had vanished again and glancing back the cat had seen her shrug and just continue what she'd been doing.

The festival was fairly loud, with assortments of music flooding from shops and street performers and with people just talking and laughing with who they'd come with, like Essa was doing. Lights flashed around as people were taking pictures, lantern lights created a colourful glow and there were places where there were sticks of bamboo with colourful paper tied to them. Spike wasn't quite sure what they were for, but judging by how they were a repeated theme, he guessed they were significant.

As Spike caught sense of a familiar group of people, he dodged farther into shadows, not particularly wanting to speak with them, however, he it seemed he wouldn't be able to dodge them. The set of shadows he'd chosen to hide within, he soon discovered were already occupied.

"Artemis, Luna," he said startled, standing in half-motion, one paw raised in the air. He scolded himself silently, figuring he should have sensed them better than the others, considering they were right there. He considered simply continuing on right then and not saying any more than that to them, but he was planted to the spot.

"Good festival, huh?" Artemis commented with a grin from where he sat. The white feline's eyes periodically flickered away to the group, but otherwise he seemed perfectly content where he was.

"Looks like our Senshi all had the same idea," Luna added, also with a grin. She sat beside Artemis, though trusted him to watch the girls.

"Sure…" Spike found himself saying to the pair.

He too ended up taking a seat for the moment, glancing back over his shoulder to make sure Essa hadn't gotten too far away. He discovered quickly that he wasn't the only one making such encounters.

"Essa!"

The four stopped, looking for the source of this voice, though only one knowing who it was. Essa finally caught sight of the pink haired child running through the crowd in their direction and pushing her way through people. The girl was waving, dressed in traditional garments and had a big smile on her face.

"Who's that?" Sasara questioned, noting that Eikou and Mine shook their heads to show they didn't know.

"Rini," Essa said both as an answer and as greeting. A smile was also on her face as she crouched and embraced the young girl in a hug. "You're not here alone, right?" Essa asked, preparing to scold the child. Even as she said this, her eyes began to look through the crowd to see if the others were close, but since she was at a low level, she could mostly only see people and no one specific.

"No way," Rini shook her head vigourously. "The whole gang's with me."

"The whole gang?" Essa asked with wide eyes. Sure she'd been looking for them, but she'd been thinking maybe only Darien and Serena had brought Rini. Maybe even only Serena, Sammy, her mother and Rini. She hadn't been expecting everyone.

"Rini! We told you not to go running off!" Darien scolded as he caught up to the girl. He looked down at her, barely noticing that she was speaking to someone. "What if something happens?"

"I was just coming to see Essa," Rini pouted slightly and Essa stood, looking Darien in the eye, noticing that he seemed surprised to see her.

"Darien," she greeted as the rest of their gang came to a stop by him and Rini.

"Is that the guy?" Sasara leaned over and whispered to Mine excitedly as she looked Darien up and down.

"Nope," Mine shook her head.

"Darn." Sasara rather wanted to meet this mystery guy who was supposedly Essa's boyfriend. "This guy's hot, though." Sasara jumped slightly when Essa glanced back over her shoulder at her and threw her a look that said to not go there. "You're sure that's not him?"

"Positive," Mine nodded this time.

"Maybe she had many boyfriends?" Sasara wondered.

"Give it up, Sasara," Eikou put in his two cents, whispering as well whilst closely watching this new group. There was a tension about them that caused him to wonder just who these people were.

"Rini! You shouldn't-!" Serena started to complain, huffing for air.

"I know, I know," Rini threw her hands in the air, "I shouldn't run away like that. Something could happen. Blah, blah, blah! I can take care of myself, meatball head!"

"Meatball head?" Eikou questioned, trying not to laugh, his other two female friends failing miserably at the not laughing.

"Got a problem buddy?" Lita demanded, standing tall within the group and with a stern expression. She wasn't about to let some random people laugh at her friends. Her expression wavered, however, when she saw Essa step in front of the laughing trio.

"Stand down," Essa warned evenly. "They're with me."

"Doesn't give them the right to laugh," Lita challenged, her eyes narrowing as she inspected them. She half wondered if these were more evil Senshi or something like that. She got no sense of that from them, but she couldn't help but wonder.

"Everyone and their uncle laughs at that name," Essa stood her ground and her friends, who'd fallen silent, watched on, perplexed at the interaction. "Get over it."

Essa saw as Lita's hand turned into a fist at her side, but noted that Mina took to keeping her calm by placing an almost restraining grip on her arm. When Lita glared down at her, the blonde simply shook her head, but Lita didn't seem about to let up. Essa's greyish eyes narrowed slightly in warning as she watched Lita, but they soon calmed as she was jolted out of her defensive mindset.

"Hey! Stop it, guys!" Rini protested, catching everyone's attention. She stood between the two groups, a pleading look in her eyes as she looked to each of them, even the three she didn't know.

"She's right," Serena finally spoke again. "We're supposed to just have fun here, not fight each other." With a grin, Serena turned to Essa's other friends. "I'm Serena. These are my friends Lita, Mina, Ami and Rei," she pointed to each as she named them. "This is my cousin, Rini and my boyfriend, Darien."

All nodded towards the group, Lita more reluctantly than the rest, but she nodded just the same.

"Guess that rules that out," Sasara whispered to Mine, to which she just shook her head.

Essa looked to Rei and noticed that the fire Senshi shook her head and Essa did the same, a silent message of 'nothing suspicious' passing between them.

"I'm Eikou and this is Sasara and Mine," the boy introduced on their part. "We didn't mean to offend anyone, but you have to admit, that's a funny nickname." A grin adorned his features.

"Hey there," Sasara greeted more politely this time. "Like he said, it is funny."

Lita looked about to open her mouth again in protest, but never got the chance.

"Darien!" Rini suddenly said, tugging at his hand, "Can I get some candy?" And before anyone could say yes or no, she was dragging him off, causing Essa to wonder if she was purposely doing that to get away from the tension. She figured there was a good chance; Rini was smart.

The rest of the larger group sighed and followed after them, shouting for them to wait up, especially Serena who wanted in on this candy. Of course she was also complaining about how Darien was _her_ boyfriend, so Rini shouldn't hog him.

"Maybe we'll see you later," Rei commented before taking off after the group.

Essa only nodded before turning back to Eikou, Mine and Sasara with an apologetic grin. "Sorry about that."

"Who were those people?" Sasara questioned, looking after them with an expression of confusion.

Essa thought about it, trying to find the right word to place them. "I guess you could call them my friends." She would have said allies, but then would have had to do some explaining that she once again did not want to.

"Some intense friends. And the tall one, Lita was it, definitely doesn't like you," Sasara continued, leading them into walking again. "And that black haired chick had some shifty glancing going on there."

"We've had issues. Don't worry about it," Essa waved it off, actually kind of surprised that they'd picked up that much from the girls.

"I thought it was going to end up in a fight," Mine sighed. "When Lita started getting angry and then you stepped in… yeesh." She shuddered visibly and perhaps with a bit of over-exaggeration to prove her point.

"The meatball head thing, though," Eikou asked, "it's because of her hair, right?"

"Definitely," Essa laughed. "That's been her nickname ever since I've met her." Noticing the sudden uncomfortable air about them, Essa felt she had to crack the tension. This was mostly because of her after all. "Come on. Let's just find something to do," she ordered more than suggested.

"Like what?" Eikou asked, wondering if she had something in mind.

"Like I know," Essa shrugged. "I've never been to one of these things before."

"You haven't?!" Mine seemed appalled, as if it was something that everyone had to do.

"Not that I remember. Unless I came here when I was kid or something," Essa shrugged, her thoughts turning to wonder if she had indeed been there as a child. Had her parents ever brought her and her brother to a Star Festival, or any kind of festival before they fell apart and before she became a Senshi? She honestly didn't remember. Maybe she'd ask Spike later.

"You poor, depraved child!" Sasara chimed in. "Let's go then!" she declared, grabbing Essa by the arm and practically dragging her through the crowds much in the same way that Rini had done to Darien.

Mine and Eikou only shook their heads and laughed, following closely after them.

After being dragged to different things to do and see, the group finally ended up at a shrine, not unlike the one that Rei inhabited with her grandfather. Essa was grateful that it wasn't the Hikawa shrine, considering she was sure the elderly man would start hitting on all of them and then try to coerce Eikou into working there. She sighed at the thought as the group climbed the stairs and when Eikou threw her a look of question, she waved it off with a grin.

"Not everyone does this anymore, but I think it's fun," Mine said as they reached the top and saw a line up to the shrine.

Essa looked around as they went to a line to wait. All around them she noticed bamboo plants, but these bamboo plants had colourful pieces of paper tied to them and she could see messages scrawled on them as well. Looking around, she saw that this wasn't just some eccentricity of the shrine keeper, for she saw many people actually tying these sheets of paper to the bamboo.

"And just what are they doing? Creating a fire hazard?" Essa questioned jokingly, but she truly was curious as to the nature of these actions.

"Of course not," Sasara laughed. "It's a tradition of the Star Festival. People take the strips of coloured paper, write their wishes on them and then tie them to bamboo. Originally they would put them in a river to float away, but since there isn't exactly a river right here the shrine master will take care of that for us."

"But why?" Essa looked at Sasara, Mine and Eikou in question. She was surprised she wasn't aware of this before, considering Sasara said it was tradition, but she didn't recall anything like this.

Nearby she heard a group of young children, some girls and some boys singing a song. As they moved up in the line, she began to catch sight of them and could better hear the song they were repeating over and over.

"Sasa no ha sara sara (The bamboo leaves, rustle, rustle)  
Nokiba ni yureru (Shaking away in the eaves)  
Ohoshi-sama kira kira (The stars go twinkle, twinkle)  
Kin gin sunago (Gold and silver grains of sand)," they sang for those listening, but didn't expect payment or any such thing, as might other street performers. They were just there, entertaining while people waited to get in line.

"The Star Festival takes place because of a legend," Mine began, looking to Sasara to correct her if she was wrong. Sasara nodded for her to continue. "It's about a princess named Orihime and she lived on the east side of a river. That river was the Milky Way. She lived there with her father, who was an emperor. On the other side of the river, there was a herder named Kengyuu and she fell in love with him. Everyone was happy at first, but when Orihime started to forget about her work, which was weaving, by the way, her father became angry. He made sure that they wouldn't be able to see each other by making sure they each stayed on opposite sides of the river," Mine said.

"Right, and once a year, it's said that a flock of magpies would come and form a bridge across the river so that Orihime and Kengyuu could meet," Sasara concluded. "People used to only write wishes for good fortune with relationships and girls believed that they'd become great weavers, like Orihime was when they made their wishes, but now people mostly just write wishes in general."

"I see," Essa nodded, believing herself to understand.

"Good, 'cause now you have to write down a wish," Mine grinned as they reached the front of the line.

The four of them set about writing their wishes, each taking careful thought into them. When they were done, they went to a bamboo plant, tying the coloured strips of paper to the plants and then stepping aside so the next people could do so.

"Hey, come on! The fireworks are starting without us!" Sasara said, pointing between some trees to where the bright lights flashed in the sky. They could clearly hear the sounds of the explosions anyway and the group began to run off down the shrine's steps and towards the fireworks.

When they arrived where the people stood gathering to watch the fireworks, they found a clear spot and watched. Mine and Essa took to standing on a bench they'd found so they could see even better and laughed as they fought off Eikou and Sasara who were also trying to get onto the bench. True, they'd come to watch the fireworks, but it was hard to see with so many people on ground level and the bench was only so big.

They pushed and shoved each other to try and claim spot on the bench and Essa found she was sorely losing, considering she was getting closer and closer to the edge of the bench. Laughing, she pushed back, trying her damnedest to regain the amount of space she'd had when she and Mine first climbed up onto the bench. Things, however, were not going her way.

In the end, she found herself losing her footing and falling over the arm of the bench, flailing all the while. Just her luck, there was someone there, so of course she hit them and ended up knocking them over as well. Both she and the other made contact with the ground.

"Oh damn," Sasara commented as she Mine and Eikou could only watch it happen.

Essa rubbed her elbow as she sat up, looking at the person she'd collided with. "Sorry about that," she apologized, though still felt like laughing over the incident.

"What the hell! Why don't you be more careful," the person protested, checking that he and his belongings were okay.

"I said I was sorry," Essa retorted snappishly, looking over at him now.

"Yeah, and that was partly our fault, too," Eikou grinned nervously, stepping off the bench and helping his friend up. He also offered his hand to help up the other teen, but the boy just swatted his hand away.

"Partly?" Essa questioned with a raised brow. "Come on, that was all you're fault."

"Don't think so," Eikou shook his head.

"Just watch it," the boy ordered, brushing himself off and double checking that he wasn't severely injured.

"Haru, what's going on over there?" a voice called through the crowd.

"That's not by chance him, is it?" Sasara whispered, she and Mine still standing on the bench. Sasara pointed discreetly at the one Essa had ended up knocking over.

"Some chick just completely knocked me down," the boy, Haru apparently, complained, catching sight of his friends.

"How many times do I have to say I'm sorry?" Essa sighed in exasperation. "Can't you just let it go?"

"Nope," Mine shook her head, wondering if Sasara was going to ask that about every guy Essa happened to encounter in the night. It had already happened about five other times. As Mine caught glimpse of Haru's friends, however, her eyes widened in surprise. "But that is," she said, gesturing towards him.

Catching the sound of whispers, Essa looked back at Mine and Sasara in time to see Mine gesture in the direction of someone else. She had a feeling she knew exactly what the two were whispering about.

"You've got to be kidding me," she found herself saying as two other girls and Kanaye came into sight to help their friend.


	20. Chapter 19

**Forced  
**_Chapter 19_

Spike looked over at the commotion just after Essa had fallen to the ground and knocked over the other human. He restrained himself from running out to check on her, knowing that with so many unfamiliar to him it would be weird for a cat to do that. A dog might, but certainly not a cat. Instead, he had to suffice with feeling that Essa was okay considering she'd gotten up and was arguing with the other person.

He sighed and shook his head slightly in a very human way and his ears pricked when he heard Luna speak.

"Those Senshi of ours," the black cat commented with a knowing sort of grin.

The trio of felines had parted when their groups parted, but now it seemed they were encountering yet again. Spike looked around for the other girls and Darien, but didn't spy them anywhere. All he saw were the faces of strangers from his place concealed (more or less) under a bench.

"They're around somewhere," Artemis answered Spike's silent question. "We figured there'd be no point in trying to follow them through this mess, though it seems you followed Essa pretty well."

"Yeah," Spike nodded, his eyes flicking to the encounter between Essa and the others now, noting that Kanaye seemed to have shown up out of nowhere.

The trio sat in silence for a while, watching the situation unfold and as the fireworks continued. The bright colours flashed across their fur, despite the cloak of humans that were around them. Many were cheering, a few glancing over at the commotion of teenagers and others just enjoying the show while perhaps eating something or another.

Spike's expression softened to amusement at the situation. It seemed that one of Essa's friends had said something that had caused them all to be thrown into an uproar. Better, though, this kind of 'battle' than a battle against evil.

"Did you two always know?" Spike asked Luna and Artemis almost randomly before turning to look at them for their responses.

"About the Senshi?" Luna questioned, tilting her head slightly to the side. When she saw the black and white feline nod, her look became somewhat melancholy. "Of course. We were reincarnated when the others were for the purpose of guarding them. Queen Serenity asked us to."

"I didn't mean to bring up sad memories," Spike said apologetically, but had Artemis had hands, he would have waved the question away.

"Don't worry about it," the white feline assured the other male. When he thought for a moment why Spike would be asking something like that, it occurred to him. "You didn't always know, did you? It was different for you since Essa wasn't part of the Silver Millennium."

"That's right," Spike confirmed. "I was just thinking about it and wondered if maybe you two had had a day of awakening like I had." He glanced over at Essa and the crew again, but nothing much had changed.

"Day of awakening?" Artemis questioned with a tilt of the head.

"The day you became aware of guardianship?" Luna guessed.

Again, the black and white feline nodded. "Before I was a guardian, I was just like any other cat out there. Lounging about the house, eating cat food only, chasing toys, ruining furniture and all those kinds of things. I wasn't a guardian. I was a pet. Her brother's pet, actually." His ears flattened at the thought of Essa's brother being gone, since the pair had been really good friends as far as pet-human relationships went.

"When the dark energy of what allowed Essa and her friends to all become Senshi came, my fur stood on end. Of course I didn't know why or what was even happening since I wasn't there. I knew I wanted to bolt out of the house, though. When the transformation actually came, it was like some new knowledge and consciousness was in me." The cat studied the ground as he spoke and ordered his thoughts, something that he knew he never would have done as a regular cat. "I was suddenly a guardian."

"Do you still sense it? That energy?" Luna asked worriedly. Was there something they should be afraid of?

Spike shook his head as a human would. "I haven't sensed it in Essa's powers for a long time. When Serena got rid of her dark form, the power seemed to completely vanish and I haven't sensed it since."

"Well that's a good thing," Artemis spoke, but was confused why Spike seemed so sad about it. "Isn't it?"

"Of course," Spike said quickly and his eyes flew to them. "I just sometimes wonder what would have happened if that dark energy had never found them."

"That's only natural," Luna said with a tone that was very motherly. "But we can't change the past. If we could do that, I don't think Queen Serenity would have sent us here. Instead she would have just gone back and changed the battle so that the Royals hadn't fallen to the Negaverse."

Spike nodded in agreement and quickly shook himself, his fur fluffing out before falling flat again. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make it all gloomy."

"Don't worry about it," Artemis said, as he'd said before.

Spike glanced around again, trying to find something positive to focus on. His eyes, however, only managed to widen and his form to grow rigid.

xxxxxxx

"Haru, you o-" Kanaye stopped in mid-question, staring at the other group. "Essa?" he asked, simply to make sure, considering it was dark outside. Maybe it was just someone who looked like her, but with the flashes of light the fireworks brought, he could tell it was her.

"Kanaye," Essa nodded as confirmation and greeting, but made no other move to show she knew him.

"You know this girl?" Machiko asked, looking her over to see if maybe she was from school. She didn't recognize this 'Essa' at all, nor did she recognize the girl's friends. All of them, excepting the white haired girl, seemed to be older than her and her own friends.

Kanaye opened his mouth to say something, but another butted in before he could say anything. Sasara hopped off the bench and stood behind Essa, leaning her chin on her shoulder as she took at look at Kanaye. Essa's eyes widened, knowing immediately what Sasara was going to do and raised a hand to clamp it over the other girl's mouth.

"So, Essa, _this_ is your boyfriend?" Sasara piped somewhat loudly with a grin.

The hand Essa had been raising to cover Sasara's mouth now hit her own forehead in exasperation as one party shouted cries of surprise and demand while the other scolded Sasara for her big mouth. She groaned in irritation and dragged her hand down her face before shouldering Sasara away so that she could throw her friend a reprimanding glare.

"Just had to do that, didn't you?" Essa demanded. "Do I need to explain this again to you?"

"Of course not. I completely understand," Sasara said with a grin.

"Well I definitely don't," Kiku interjected, though she didn't seem mad. Rather, she looked amused and she held one brow cocked in question. "I had no idea Kanaye had a girlfriend."

Essa only sighed with more exasperation, but Kanaye was quick to thwart the 'accusation', if it could be called that.

"That's because I don't have a girlfriend," he insisted, feeling himself blush slightly, glad for the darkness to hide it.

"Then these people are crazier than I thought," Haru spoke again, glancing them over.

"We're not crazy," Eikou took charge to the rest of his friends. He wanted to avoid another argument, like had happened with Essa's other friends, but he wondered if that would be possible. "Sasara's just very good at misunderstanding things."

"Misunderstand my foot! Like I said before, there's no way a normal guy-" Sasara began.

"All right, enough of that," Essa waved her hand in front of Sasara's face, saving Kanaye from potential embarrassment in front of his friends, since the girl would probably have them believing her over either of the two actually involved in the initial situation before long.

Sasara pouted a bit, but gave in before abandoning the pout all together. Essa had a suspicion that she just wanted to stir trouble up now since she'd finally come across the guy in question and Essa threw a accusing glance at Mine for pointing Kanaye out to Sasara. Though, Essa knew that once they'd encountered that it would have come out anyway.

"Does someone want to explain what's going on?" Kiku crossed her arms over her chest, the purse she was carrying in one hand and a look of demanding question on her face. "Because I, for one, am still confused."

"Put it this way," Essa spoke before anyone else could. "Kanaye and I know each other, all right? Nothing more than that." She watched them carefully, hoping they would take the 'nothing more than that' without question. She saw them glance at Kanaye and in turn saw him shrug and nod in agreement. She glanced at Mine, Eikou and Sasara, but it didn't seem that any of them were about to mention the 'stalker' thing, so she relaxed slightly.

"So, what happened that we all had to have this awkward encounter?" Machiko wondered allowed, shifting in the sudden silence that had formed between the two groups.

"These crazy people-" Haru began.

"We're not crazy," Eikou persisted, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Fine then. That," he pointed to Essa, "crazy girl knocked me down."

Essa bristled in irritation since he still sounded angry about it. "Look, I said I was sorry! You want a written apology or something?"

"Hey, calm down," Eikou said, placing a hand on her arm as if to restrain her. Considering what he'd seen her do in the past, he didn't know how she would act towards this guy if he threatened her. For all he knew, she would knock him out. Then there really would be trouble on their hands.

The white haired teen looked to Eikou and then let out a sigh before looking at no one in particular. "Purely an accident and he can't let it go. Pisses me off."

She knew she was blowing her anger slightly out of proportion, but she just wanted the kid to let it go and then she could go back to having fun with her friends.

"Let's go, guys," Kiku suggested. "Before a fight breaks out." She didn't seem to be angry with the other group, but had a feeling this wasn't going to end well if they stayed.

"I'm all for that," Haru nodded briskly, throwing a last look of reproach at the other group before turning away.

"See yah around," Kanaye said with a wave as he turned with the rest of his friends.

When the other group left, Mine drew closer to her friends in case the others were still in ear shot. She didn't think they were, but just in case.

"Essa, you officially know weird people," she spoke for the first time in a while and her form visibly relaxed as she did so.

"I didn't know the other three," Essa shook her head as she watched after them for a moment.

"Just the hot one, right?" Sasara said with a wink at which Essa rolled her eyes and shook her head. The girl received a deck upside the head from Mine, who proceeded to enforce the action with the words ' you've had your fun, now give it a rest'.

The quartet headed back to the bench to watch the remainder of the fireworks, already bickering about who would get to stand on it this time. Essa was scolding and saying how it better not end up with her being knocked into someone again, but before she even got the chance to try and claim a spot on the bench, she suddenly collapsed without warning.

"Essa!" Sasara shouted in dismay, the first to notice and she made to try and catch the girl. It was lucky that she had only been a few steps away, and even then she only barely managed to catch her, doing so just as the girl was going to hit her head on the ground. She heard her other friends jump off the bench again and crouched down with her. "What's wrong?" Sasara asked them, looking Essa over as she held her.

"She doesn't look sick," Mine observed, feeling the other girl's forehead with the back of her hand. "No fever and she has a pulse." Her words were calm, but her heart was racing.

"We should get her off the ground," Eikou suggested, worried since he couldn't see anything wrong though something obviously was. Just as he made to pick her up, however, he felt his arm being nudged by a much smaller creature. He nearly fell backwards when he saw what it was. "What the hell is that cat doing?"

"It's her pet."

They all jumped in surprise to see that Kanaye had joined them crouched on the ground and they noticed now that others were crowding around.

"Her pet?" Eikou questioned sceptically, really wanting to shoo the animal away though it didn't seem to be any harm. "What's it do, follow her around like a dog?"

"Something like that," the other male nodded, glancing at Spike, whose expression mirrored his own worry. "What happened?"

"She just collapsed! I don't know!" Sasara supplied, though seemed to be having trouble keeping calm.

"Let's get her on the bench," Eikou restated and no one seemed to protest this time. The cat, he noticed it was black and white, perched itself on the back of the bench and stared down at the girl with what he thought was an almost unnatural amount of attention. He would save questions about the animal for later, though.

"Someone should find a medic," Mine suggested, crouching at the end of the bench, near Essa's feet. She leaned on the arm of it. "It could be heat exhaustion or something." It wasn't really all that hot out, but who knew. There were so many people around that that could have triggered it, or at least that was Mine's reasoning.

"But she was perfectly fine two minutes ago," Sasara said, her brow furrowed in confusion as she stood at the side of the bench.

"I sent my friends to search for someone," Kanaye told them, crouching beside the bench, not sure what he should do.

"And they just went?" Eikou questioned, finding it odd that people who barely knew the girl would do something like that.

"I asked them to, so yeah," Kanaye nodded, glancing at him while thinking that those weren't the only friends that had been sent off in search of help. Both the alarm in Sasara's voice and the pair of felines at his feet, one black and one white, had alerted him to what happened. Luna and Artemis had run off to find the other Senshi, in particular, he guessed, Ami.

"I'm going to get her some water," Mine announced before going to do just that, pushing her way through the crowd to get to a vendor. Some of that crowd still hovered and watched the scene, but others had slunk away, muttering about how it was the oddest thing.

Spike watched the humans with apprehension, wishing he could simply leap down onto or beside Essa and try to talk to her himself, but he knew any attempts he made would get him shooed away by those unfamiliar with him. His tail twitched nervously and his whole form was tense.

When the girl, Mine, returned with the water, they tried to get her to drink it. The boy that Spike wasn't familiar with tilted her head while Mine opened the bottle and tried to pour water in her mouth. A lot of it just dribbled out, but they still made the effort.

His ears pricked forward and he sat up as he heard Ami pushing her way through the people, followed by the others. Kanaye, Mine, Sasara and Eikou looked over at the newcomers, the latter three obviously more surprised than the first.

"Please, move," Ami said, practically shoving them out of the way as she knelt beside the bench.

"Are you a doctor?" Mine asked, finding that unbelievable if she was. She wondered that any of the large group was there at all, considering what had happened earlier. 'Maybe they really are her friends.'

"I'm studying to be," Ami replied, not looking at them. "What happened?"

"She just passed out. Mine mentioned something about heat exhaustion?" Sasara tried.

"Before she collapsed?" Ami continued, confused by what she was finding, since everything seemed to prove to be perfectly fine. The girl's pulse was normal. She wasn't in a cold sweat or anything. No fever. Unless it was something internal, she hadn't a clue what was wrong. "What has she eaten?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary," Eikou reported, watching from the head of the bench.

Rini stood watching with worry, wondering what was happening. From just looking at the others, she could tell they were all as confused as she was, even Ami, who seemed normally to know everything. The fireworks had ended and the only light around them now was light from the lanterns and from a lamppost that was farther away.

"I can't find anything wrong with her," Ami announced finally. "Have other medics been called?"

Kanaye looked around, surprised by what he saw. The crowd had thinned out considerably and wondered if some other attraction had pulled them away. He didn't see his friends anywhere.

"They should have been back by now," he muttered, his brow furrowed.

Rini followed his gaze, looking around. She backed up slightly, finding herself bumping into Rei first. She looked up at the fire Senshi and tugged on her hand until she lowered to her level.

"Rei, where did all the people go?" Rini asked, not with the curiousity of a child, but with the wariness of one who knew evil schemes when she saw them.

Rei's dark eyes fell around them for what seemed like the first time and she didn't like what she saw. Where had the people gone? Standing back up straight, she motioned for Lita, Mina, Darien and Serena to lean closer.

"Something's not right here," she told them in a whisper, discreetly motioning towards where the crowds had been moment before.

She heard her friends murmur in agreement and she thought it was Lita who said, "Let's check it out."

"Right. If anyone asks, we're looking for help," Darien added, the first to head off in one direction with Serena and the others following close behind.

"Where are you guys going?" It was Sasara who asked, watching them suspiciously. Were they abandoning Essa?

"We're going to look for help," Rei turned and looked back at them. "Rini, stay with them."

"Right," the young girl nodded importantly, wondering if they were making her stay so she would be safe or so she could watch Essa. She thought it might be the latter, since they hadn't been so trusting of the girl before. She noticed Luna and Artemis disappear into the shadows.

The pink haired child approached the rear of the bench, stroking Spike on the head, though the cat didn't seem to take much notice to her. She didn't blame him, but had hoped to comfort him a bit. She glanced at Eikou, Mine and Sasara, wondering how much they knew of the situation and then at Kanaye, wondering if he knew what was happening but just wasn't saying anything. Ami continued her observation by continuing with feeling the girl's pulse and by watching her breathing.

"Hey, guys," Sasara suddenly said as she looked around to see where the others had gone off to. "Where are all the people? It's not that late yet, is it?"

The rest of the group looked around, too, wondering the same thing. Rini caught sight as Spike's fur bristled slightly and he looked to his Senshi, but otherwise made no movement. Rini wondered if this wasn't just some general bad guy thing and if it had happened before with Essa.

"Maybe we should just call an ambulance," Eikou said, growing nervous now. He didn't know what, but something didn't seem right here and he feared for Essa.

"I don't think it'll help any," Kanaye thought aloud, though he had intended to say it in his head.

"What? Why the hell not?" Eikou demanded, glaring at the other male. "Are you not telling us something?"

"I just don't think it'll help," Kanaye chose his words carefully. "I mean, she's showing no signs of illness or anything. Right?" He turned to Ami.

"True," Ami agreed with a nod, "But there could be something we don't see on the surface. Remember, I'm still just studying. I'm not a certified doctor by any means. I just happen to know a lot."

"See, we should call an ambulance. Maybe even the police to see what the hell is going on here," Eikou continued, ready to fish his cell phone out of his pocket.

"I agree with Eikou on this one," Mine nodded. "I don't know what's going on here, but we need help."

Kanaye held his tongue as Eikou dialled and made the call, his attention turning back to Essa.

xxxxxxx

"You guys find anything?" Mina asked when the five met back up again after scouring the area.

She, Darien, Serena, Lita and Rei now stood in a courtyard where the festival had obviously been taking place, but now the only evidence that anything had happened at all were the lanterns swaying against the night sky in the slight breeze that had started, empty vending stands and litter on the ground. All the people seemed to have left or disappeared.

"Not a thing," Lita said with her hands on her hips. "I don't like the looks of this."

"Neither do I," Darien shook his head. "What do you guys think could be going on?"

"I think we all know what could be going on," Rei put out there, looking at all of them with even sterness. "This has to do with Essa again."

"We don't know that, Rei. It could be something completely different that just happens to be affecting her," Serena tried, though her gut was agreeing with Rei.

"I don't know…" Lita said pensively. "I admit I do think it could be linked to Essa, but what if it's not?"

"Say it is. What are we going to do about it?" Mina looked warily to each of her friends, watching their expressions.

"We're going to have to fight her," Darien spoke when no one else did. "Even if it's not her, we're going to have to fight. This isn't just some normal situation. People don't just disappear."

"Right," Rei nodded sternly.

The fire Senshi was about to elaborate, but her attention jerked back towards the direction of Essa and the rest. She didn't know what had drawn her attention right away, but then her vision clouded black for a moment, as if receiving a vision, but all she saw was darkness. When the vision cleared, she shook herself, but continued to stare off in that direction. It wasn't until she heard screams that she and the others made any move to head back.

xxxxxxx

"They'll be here soon," Eikou informed the others when he'd hung up. "They said to just keep doing what we're doing."

"All right," Ami nodded, doing just that. "Did they say anything else?"

"No. They didn't even have any guesses over the phone," he shook his head.

"Well, at least they'll get here soon," Mine said, leaning on the arm of the bench and watching her friend. She was truly at a loss as to what was happening, but wondered if maybe it had something to do with the gunshot wound. When Essa had collapsed, that had been one of the first things to come to her mind; that she'd been shot again. But she'd heard no gunshot and there wasn't any wound showing evidence of this since the gun could have had a silencer. So she was left at a loss.

Kanaye's heartbeat quickened with hope and from being slightly startled when he saw Essa move a bit. The others noticed, too, but no one said anything at the moment. He saw that her eyes began to open and at first he was relieved, but when they were fully opened his look darkened.

"Essa! Are you all right?" Sasara asked, relief clear in her voice. When she didn't answer, however, confusion clouded it. "Essa?"

When the girl made to sit up, Eikou was the first to help her do so, making sure she didn't sit up to quickly. He wanted to swat the cat away again when it jumped down to sit beside the girl and when it rubbed against her, but she didn't protest, so he didn't. In fact, she didn't do anything at all.

Spike withdrew slightly when Essa didn't respond to him, wondering if she was just dazed, but when he looked up at her eyes, his fur bristled and a low growl formed in his throat.

"What's wrong with the cat?" Mine asked, standing up and backing away slightly in case it wanted to make a mad get away. She wasn't about to be scratched.

Rini circled around the bench as the girl began to stand and Ami and Kanaye backed away to give her space. She caught the look on both of their faces and certainly she saw Spike's reaction. She wanted to see for herself what was going on. Her own eyes widened when she saw Essa's.

"Essa?" she questioned and the girl looked at her before becoming completely encased in a tube of blackness.


	21. Chapter 20

**Forced  
**_Chapter 20_

Essa felt her body crumble under her as her legs suddenly grew weak. She fell, landing on her hands and knees on the ground, but managed to push herself back to sit on her knees. She looked at her hands, noticing they weren't scraped and then brushed them off. Her focus was still on the ground as she opened her mouth to get one of her friends to hoist her up, since she didn't want to chance her legs collapsing again, but the words never left her thoughts. Instead, she saw something much more alarming.

The teen pushed herself up to stand as quickly as she could, her legs finding the strength and noticing a shadow moving beneath her form. She looked around, now noticing how quiet it had become and her jaw dropped. Everything around her had succumbed to darkness, like when they'd gone after Rini and Spike. She was no longer watching the fireworks with her friends at the Star festival. She was now completely alone.

"I knew it," she breathed out, her heartbeat quickening as she began to panic. "It was never gone."

"Of course not."

Essa jumped at the sound of another voice, mostly because it was one she was completely familiar with. Her grey eyes widened, shocked as they lay themselves on the figure of one she knew was dead.

"Universe…" Essa took an involuntary step back. She couldn't see the other's facial features and the form was simply complete shadow, but her gut instinct and that voice told her exactly who it was she was facing.

"How could it be gone when your powers still exist?" the shadow of Universe asked, tilting her head to the side as if the whole thing was obvious.

"What?" Essa felt a chill run through her. "My powers?"

"Yes. Haven't you realized it yet?" Universe asked. "This," she made a sweeping gesture, indicating the darkness, "is all your power. The power of all the three of you Dark Senshi."

Essa realized at that moment that she wasn't actually speaking to Universe, or the spirit of her, or anything like that, which relieved her slightly. She figured that the darkness had taken on that form so it could communicate with her, and this new information struck her. She said nothing, her jaw tight and she was trying to resist shaking.

"The one who became Sailor Universe tapped into a great evil. As the strongest among you, she became the leader. Sailor Space was ultimately the weakest; the most willing to follow any orders, but she needed to be controlled anyway. It couldn't be risked that she'd grow a backbone and try to take over. The fool would have ruined everything. And you. Sailor Star is, in the end, the most dangerous and needed extra effort to be controlled. Yet, you broke free from Star's initial power. Still all three of you shared the dark power," Sailor Universe explained.

"But," Essa tried to control her voice. "They're gone."

"Yes, but the power just doesn't disintegrate and vanish. Not when there is still a host," Sailor Universe continued. "You alone remain. And the power has been searching for you."

"No," the girl backed away some more, noticing the shadow drawing closer.

"You didn't honestly think you could ever be a good Senshi, did you? Not when the only reason you became a Senshi in the first place is because of this darkness." The shadowed form of the Dark Senshi approached, but made no move to capture her. Her tone was reprimanding.

"Queen Serenity," Essa began.

"Queen Serenity was a fool and only a spirit and memory now. You may think that she banished the darkness from you, but she didn't. You're not supposed to be a Senshi, you just happened to become one because of your so called friend's curiosity."

Essa shook her head slightly, as if to deny it, but in her heart she knew it was true. In a sense it was almost a relief that she wasn't ever supposed to be a Senshi since all she seemed to do was harm, but she was a Senshi now. She wanted to escape it.

"You think it was mere coincidence that brought you back here? You were forced back here. The boy helped your powers bring you back. Your powers have been searching for you since you left. Had the others survived, it might have left you alone. Might have. But you killed them," Universe continued, more or less circling her now, like an animal would its prey.

"Stop it," Essa demanded, tears glassing over her eyes. She didn't want to hear this. Not again.

"So as the only one left," Universe spoke loudly over the girl's protests. "It sought you. It lives because of you. And now. It will take you again."

"No!" Essa broke away from the circling, running as fast as she could and trying to get away.

She could both hear and feel the shadow following her. She could hear as it started to call out her name again. Not her real name, but her Senshi name and she realized it all made sense now. Why it kept calling to her and why it was so adamant in attacking her.

The girl skid to a halt as the shadowed form of Universe popped up before her again. Her breathing erratic, she avoided screaming and simply turned to run in another direction. Part of her told her it was completely useless, but her instincts told her to keep running. There was danger, so of course the solution was to make a break for it.

"There's no point in running, girl," the shadow told her. "You're trapped here. You can no longer escape it."

The Universe shadow popped up before her again, and this time her halt led her to falling backwards. With the wind knocked out of her, Essa was forced to lay there for a second and deal with the pain that ran through her, which gave the shadow opportunity to strike. It hunkered down and bent over her, one hand to her throat, the other prepared to move.

"You won't need this anymore," the shadow's free hand pulled the silver chain out from under her shirt and gave it a swift yank, the chain breaking free. Universe stood again with the pendant in her hand.

Essa quickly sat up, watching to see what it was Universe was going to do with the pendant. She watched as the silver chain and the star disintegrated. Essa didn't know whether to feel relieved or horrified, because something told her that it wasn't a good thing that that had happened. Despite the fact that that was what she wanted to happen to the pendant, she knew this wasn't a good thing, and she wondered if that was why she hadn't been able to destroy it up to this point.

"Now you're free to return to the Senshi you were," the shadow of Universe said before vanishing into the rest of the shadow around them.

After sitting there for a moment and waiting to see what, if anything, would happen next, Essa rose to her feet, looking around again. She heard nothing. Saw nothing. Felt nothing. But then, she did see something. The shadows moved again and this time it wasn't a Senshi that the shadows formed. This time, it was much worse.

The dragon, much larger than it had ever been, rose up above her before swooping down upon her. Essa screamed, though no sound came out of her mouth and she felt the world close in around her. She felt all the darkness stream into her body all at once. It was a sensation all too familiar and all too painful. An image flashed through her mind of when she was twelve. Of when this had happened the first time. The only difference was that the first time, she wasn't the only receiving all the power. Now, however, she was.

All she'd been trying to escape rushed in at her and before she knew it, it was done. But she felt the same as she had when she'd been a Dark Senshi, only this time, all shred of her goodness had been suppressed to the point where she couldn't feel it. All she could feel was the guilt for all she done. The people she'd killed. Those she'd tried to kill. But then the guilt faded to hate. This was someone's fault, and it certainly wasn't hers. She'd never asked for this. Universe was at fault, but she was already dead. It wasn't her that had brought the Senshi back to Japan, anyway. It was _him_.

She opened her eyes, but still wasn't within the tangible world. She could see it, but it was as if her eyes were hazed; like she was looking through a frosted window and she had to break through it to get there. Those eyes, dulled and darkened to the point of near blackness, stared through the frost, spotting familiar faces. Three regular humans that she'd gotten to know, the Senshi of Mercury, Serenity's daughter, the guardian and _him_.

Though it couldn't be heard outside to the haze, she called out, "Star Power!"

Darkness wrapped itself around the girl, visible to the others as only a large tube. Within, though, it attached itself to her form, the fabric of her Senshi fuku darkening to become a deep grey, each piece of it with only a small portion of the fuku of her good form.

The skirt was a dark grey, the first to form after the white bodice, and had a thin, light grey edge. Her boots, still high above her knees, had light grey soles, but the rest was completely dark grey. Her gloves, also the same size and length, bore a light grey around the wrists, looking almost like handcuffs without the chains. Her scarf, now dark grey as well, was also edged with a light grey, like the skirt. Her silver tiara, which looked rather tarnished now, bore a black star in its center.

With the transformation complete, the darkness seemed to sink into her even more than it already had before vanishing. She stood before them, noting the shocked and horrified faces around her. She heard the young girl and the two other females scream. The Senshi of Mercury simply leapt backwards, already with her henshin pen summoned.

"What the hell is going on?!" Eikou demanded, looking to the others to see what they knew.

"Mars Celestial Fire Surround!"

Star leapt out of the way long before the attack reached her, watching from where she stood on a nearby vending stand with a twisted sort of grin on her face. She watched as the four Senshi and Tuxedo Mask appeared on the scene, much to the shock of the others.

"I knew it. I knew you weren't gone," Mars seethed, glaring up at the girl.

"But why?" Sailor Moon asked, her expression showing dismay and the words of her dream ringing through her mind.

"What happened to her?"

The Senshi's attention turned to Sasara, who was clinging to Mine, and Eikou stood nearby, staring at Star.

"We should get them out of here," Jupiter said more than she suggested.

"I vote Kanaye does it," Mars said, wanting him off the scene, too, and so that they wouldn't need to spare any fighters. No one seemed to disagree, not even him.

When he made to move to do so, however, Star flipped from where she stood, landing in his path, the grin remaining on her face as he paled.

"You're not going anywhere," she said, her voice sinister. "You brought me back here. You get to face the consequences now. So, why don't you sit down?" Her voice held question, but as she knocked him to the ground, it was very evident that it was a demand. She turned to look at the others, noticing that Sailor Mercury and Sailor Mini-Moon had taken the distractions as time to transform. Her dark eyes glanced over at the trio. "No one is leaving."

Her expression fell when she noted that her guardian placed himself between her and Eikou, Sasara and Mine. She stared him down, hearing his growl in the air.

"Spike," she said finally, raising her chin indignantly. "You think you can protect them? You couldn't protect me."

Spike's ears flattened against his head and he felt shame, but he knew this was no time to back down. Not when she'd returned to this. Despite the regular humans behind him, he spoke, "I can try."

"Did that cat just speak?" Mine breathed out.

No one answered, however, for the sounds of vehicles approaching, vehicles with sirens, finally came into the area.

"Finally," Eikou said, relieved. They would be able to do something and help bring sanity back to the situation. He remembered the Senshi from a few years ago, but still couldn't bring himself to believe this was normal. Not when Essa was looking and acting like that.

"They will not interfere," Star said, watching them for a moment.

Eikou was shocked to see a long black whip appear in her hand and even more shocked to see it crackling with what looked like dark lightning.

She drew the whip back as the Senshi moved to block her path towards the vehicles, but she was too quick. "Star Pain!" she called out, swinging the weapon forward and releasing the dark energy. It flew off the whip, pushing the Senshi back and hitting their target dead on. The vehicles' metal screamed as it was hit and then as it scraped against the ground after the vehicles flipped.

Mini-Moon pealed herself from the ground, shaking her head and then looking to Star, horrified. What had happened to the Star that she'd seen fighting gallantly to save them? What had happened to the good Senshi? Was this what it was like before? The young girl made to stand up.

"No! Rini, stay back!" Sailor Moon scrambled, grabbing the girl around the waist, terrified for the safety of her future child. "She's dangerous, Rini!"

"But we have to help her! You said we would help her!" Mini-Moon protested.

"We will!" Sailor Moon assured her, but tightened her grip on the girl as she saw Star looking their way. "We can't charge into this blindly."

Sailor Moon watched, however, as Star turned her attention away from them and back to Kanaye, who hadn't moved from where he was on the ground.

"He's her target," Sailor Moon whispered mostly to herself, but she saw Mini-Moon nod in agreement. She kept one arm around Mini-Moon and turned to her friends, who were now beginning to stand. She too, stood up, holding onto the child's hand. "We have to protect Kanaye," she told them.

"Go ahead and try," Star growled at them.

Kanaye paled even more than he already had, if that was possible. His gut told him that _this_ was the Senshi that the voice had wanted him to bring back from Russia, not the girl he'd thought he was bringing back. _This _was the one the dragon, or whatever it was, wanted. And now, as she'd said, he was going to face the consequences.

He scrambled backwards, pushing himself along the ground as she crouched in front of him. He saw none of the same happiness or light that he'd seen in her eyes, only an intensified version of the sadness and a great deal of hate. He wasn't sure what she was about to do to him, but he knew it wasn't going to be good.

Surprise struck him as the Senshi leapt away and a red rose passed between them. He looked over and saw that Tuxedo Mask had been the one to throw it and he saw the others preparing for an attack. Before Star could do anything, he saw Venus jump into action.

"Venus Love Chain Encircle!"

The golden chain wrapped around Star's torso, pinning her arms to her side, but the Senshi only seemed irritated rather than worried about it. True, she did struggle against the binds, but otherwise she seemed perfectly fine.

"Jupiter Thunderclap Zap!"

That was when she cried out, her legs buckling under her again and she fell to her knees, her teeth grit against the electricity coursing through her.

"You're hurting her!" Sasara shouted from where she and her two friends still stayed huddled together with the cat standing before them.

"It's necessary," Spike told them, his tail flicking to try and calm his nerves. He wanted desperately to make it stop.

"What do you mean it's necessary?! They're going to kill her!" Sasara shouted at the cat, allowing herself to believe that it was actually talking to her. Someone was talking, someone who would answer her. If it was the cat, then so be it.

"She won't die," Spike told them, though he was really just trying to convince himself. "It's either this, or she kills us."

"What?!" Eikou shouted in disbelief. "Kill us!"

The cat didn't respond, only continuing to stand there as his tail twitched sharply.

The area fell silent as the lightning attack stopped, but the chain still stayed wrapped around the Dark Senshi's form. Spike watched as she breathed heavily, staring at the ground and he wondered for a split second if they'd subdued her. He took a step forward, but no other as images of what she'd been like before flashed through his mind. No. It wasn't over yet.

Star's eyes narrowed in Venus' direction and the Senshi rose to her feet again, even if it was awkwardly. Without hesitation, Star pushed herself from the ground, leaping backwards to land on the bench, which dragged Venus along with her. Star was impressed by her endurance as the Senshi of Love continued to keep her grip on the chain even with being dragged on the ground, which allowed for it to stay wrapped around Star's form.

The Dark Senshi wriggled on of her arms until she could move her hand enough to grab hold of the chain. When it was in her grasp, she saw Venus' eyes widen. "Star Imitation!"

The same lightning that Jupiter had used began to course along the chain again, but this time, its target was the wielder of the chain. Venus cried out before being forced to let go of the chain and letting it vanish as it fell to the ground. Venus cursed silently as she pushed herself off the ground and stood as her friends joined her.

"What are we going to do?" she asked them, breathing heavily.

"I think the question might better be asked, what _can_ we do?" Mercury spoke for the first time in a while. "She's much more powerful than before," the Senshi informed them, looking through her visor at the girl and getting insane readings. "She's like all three of the Dark Senshi in one."

"Somehow she must have gotten their powers," Mars reasoned.

"What I don't get is why she's reverted to being evil now. Why did she even bother helping us?" Jupiter growled, her hands clenched to fists at her sides.

"Because she didn't want to go back to being bad," Mini-Moon said sternly. "She didn't. I know it. I don't care what you guys say."

"Rini," Tuxedo Mask began.

"I said I don't care!" Mini-Moon snapped, glaring at him. "Don't you guys get it by now? I don't care what you think. I know in my heart that she doesn't want to be evil."

"Back to our original question, what can we do?" Venus spoke again, noticing that Star was watching them, as if to see what move they would make. No, Star was watching all of them, but especially them and Kanaye.

"How did we defeat her dark form before?" Mercury asked, looking to the others since she didn't seem to remember.

"We got rid of the band around her neck," Tuxedo Mask supplied.

"But there _is_ no band this time," Sailor Moon shook her head, looking to the girl's bare neck. She tried to look at Star's eyes, but unlike before she couldn't see any of the goodness that had given her hope last time the two faced. Sailor Moon was horrified when she saw the boy called Eikou approach the Dark Senshi. "No! Stay back!" she called to him.

"The idiot!" Jupiter snapped.

"Essa?" Eikou said, ignoring the protests of the other girls. He jumped visibly when the Senshi looked at him, half because he hadn't expected her to respond and half because of the look in her eyes.

"Stay out of this," Star snapped and proceeded to shove him away forcefully.

"Eikou!" Mine and Sasara both cried out, running to catch him as he stumbled backwards.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Mine demanded, staring at Star.

Star lurched forward to attack again, but instead she was being knocked backwards as Jupiter physically attacked her. The Senshi even managed to rip the bench's bolts out of the ground as she attacked and sent them both rolling across the ground. When they came to a stop, both were instantly on their feet again and ready to strike.

They charged at each other, but it was Star who managed to get a good grip first, grabbing the other girl around the waist and throwing her through the air. "Star Darkness Inferno!" Dark flame sprouted from her palms and hit its target as Jupiter fell to the ground from being thrown.

Her attention was drawn again, and she bypassed the others as they charged at her, heading towards Kanaye, who seemed to be making to flee. She grabbed him around the throat, though didn't suspend him in the air as another might. Instead she just kept a tight grip and stared right into his eyes.

"Going somewhere?"

"No," he responded, though his voice was barely audible, considering.

"Why not? I expected you to run," Star grinned darkly.

"I can't," he told her, though didn't elaborate.

Star was silent for a moment, assessing him. "You've accepted your fate then?"

"No."

Star laughed loudly, noting that the others were slowly approaching her from behind. "You can't expect to fight me. You're powerless."

"I have to," he said, his eyes darting to the other Senshi, trying to silently get them to stop. They continued their approach however.

"Oh?" Star questioned, her attention completely on him.

Kanaye nodded as best he could. "I can't let you suffer."


	22. Chapter 21

**Forced  
**_Chapter 21_

Star scoffed, her expression darkening from the amusement it held a moment before. "It's much too late for that, boy." Her voice held a snarl.

"I don't believe that," Kanaye insisted, noticing that Star kept glancing over her shoulder ever so slightly, watching the approach of the others. He also noticed that Mercury and Venus had gone to check on the people in the emergency vehicles now, but didn't see any more than their venture over there. His eyes flew back to Star when she spoke again.

"Then you're a fool," Star snapped, her own eyes returning to him. "This started long before you came into the picture."

"Then why are you attacking him?" Mars demanded, standing pretty much directly behind Star. She stood the closest to the Senshi, but knew that the others had her back should something happen.

"Because," Star turned to Mars, but didn't release Kanaye even a bit. "_This_ time _he_ is the one to blame. _He_ brought me back into this hell hole."

"This time?" Sailor Moon asked tentatively, making no move to step forward. She tried frantically to think of something to do. To find some way to bring her back to the good person she'd been.

"Last time, it was she who became Sailor Universe that forced me to be a Senshi. If she were still here, then I might punish her instead. But you can't kill someone twice!" Star bit back.

Mini-Moon recoiled involuntarily at the madness in Star's voice and eyes, not to mention her actions. She could tell that whatever darkness had taken Star was still just feeding off of Star's negative emotions; her hatred, sadness, guilt, resent and all else bad. The young girl feared the moment when the darkness decided that it no longer needed even Star's emotions to fuel it. Something in her gut told her that that was truly when the slaughtering would begin.

The same kind of thoughts were going through Kanaye's mind. He didn't know much about what had consumed her, nor did he know a whole lot about her past. He wondered if that would help at all, though it didn't seem to be helping the others.

His mind tried to figure out what to do to avoid strangulation that he felt Star wouldn't even hesitate to issue out at this point. So far, she was just making sure he wasn't going anywhere, or at least not easily. However, it seemed he wouldn't need to think of anything.

Distracted by the other Senshi, Star failed to see as Spike made his move. The cat took a chance, lunging forward as fast as he could and then rushing his Senshi. He leapt into the air, grabbing hold of her gloved arm and he hoped that glove would protect her at least a little, despite the fact that his goal was to injure her.

He heard Star cry out in surprise and from the sting of his claws. In this moment, she both released Kanaye and then swung her arm to fling the animal away. Spike hung on as much as he could, but the force of the movement caused his claws to drag through the fabric and likely her skin before he was flying through the air. Like the saying dictated he should, he managed to land on his feet, quickly turning to face Star. His ears were flat against his head and his form was tense, ready to leap again.

"You traitorous fleabag!" Star growled at him as she held her arm and inspected the wound. It wasn't bleeding too badly, but she could see through the torn fabric of her glove that there were marks from his claws, and she could feel the sting. If she was lucky, the venom of his claws wouldn't have been injected into her. She glowered, looking back to the black and white feline. "What kind of guardian are you?!"

"I didn't betray anyone," Spike shook his head, watching carefully to ensure that she didn't use an attack on him. A shiver ran down his spine as he didn't think he'd be able to dodge her whip or any other attack that came flying his way. Despite this fear, his voice was calm and strong. "I'm trying to bring back Essa and you're my obstacle."

"Who the hell do you think I am? You think this is some possession?" Star's amused look returned, though it underlay greatly with anger. "I'm not some alternate personality that was suppressed until this moment. And I'm definitely not the dragon."

The hairs all over Spike's body stood on end, these words icy in his ears. What was worse was that something told him that what she said was completely true. Had he been human, tears would have likely flooded his eyes.

"Now," Star began. "Why don't you back off?!" She swung at Mars, who only narrowly managed to escape the attack by leaping backwards.

Mars' heart beat wildly in her chest, knowing that she was lucky that Star had only swung her arm at her. Had the whip been in her hand, Mars was sure the attack would have hit her dead on and then she would have been out of commission. Part of her greatly feared what Star's powers could do, since she'd seen them take lives, but part of her knew she had to be strong. Especially since she'd been waiting for this to happen since day one. After a while, she'd started to wonder and think maybe Star wouldn't revert to what she was, but in the end, it seemed she was right. At least partially, because the Dark Senshi Star was being controlled before. As far as she could tell, this Star wasn't being controlled by anyone.

Star made to lunge forward again, but was stopped abruptly when she felt her arms being pinned to her sides and she knew right away that it wasn't some attack that had done this to her. She growled and averted her vision over her shoulder to the one whose arms were restraining her.

"Kanaye get out of there, you idiot!" Star heard someone call. It sounded like Jupiter, but she wasn't about to look.

"You should listen to her, you know," Star told the boy. "If you think this will bring me back, then you're out of your mind." She said this in a low enough voice that only he would hear her.

"Something has to work. I know it's the dragon that has a hold on you," Kanaye insisted, not loosening his grip any. If anything, he tightened it. He was surprised when Star laughed.

"The dragon is my power," she seethed and she felt his form go tense. "That's right. Without this dragon – this power – I wouldn't be a Senshi at all. None of this would have happened."

"Just because it has, you're going to let it consume you?" Kanaye asked and Star could feel his breath on the back of her neck.

"I might as well," Star began, a smirk creeping onto her face. "I've got nothing to lose, now do I? I already made mince-meat of my family."

This notion disturbed Kanaye, but he pushed past it to try and get to her. "What about your friends?" he asked, glancing over at them as she did.

He saw them standing there, still huddled together, terrified and confused as to what had become of their friend. He was quite certain that Mine even jumped slightly when Star's gaze turned their way, like it inflicted some physical pain on her. He didn't know the extent of Star's powers, so he hoped that that wasn't the case.

"See, they're worried about you," Kanaye said. "Like all of us are."

"But you especially, right?" the laugh returned to Star's voice.

"What?"

"I can see right through you, boy. I'm not stupid."

Without saying another word, Star used her physical strength and wrenched Kanaye's arms free. Keeping hold of them, she ducked down and then threw him over her, of course causing his form to skid across the pavement. Slowly, she stood again, watching as he peeled himself from the pavement and looked at her. She approached again, but suddenly the young girl stood between her and him.

"Stop this!" Mini-Moon shouted, dismayed and yet still firm. Her form shook, and yet she refused to move. 'There has to be something I can do,' she thought silently.

"Rini!" Sailor Moon cried and rushed forward, in turn putting herself between Mini-Moon and Star.

"You know what happened last time we faced, Serenity," Star's eyes locked with Sailor Moon's. "I almost killed you." Star shrugged, the whip appearing in her hand. "Oh well, might as well finish the job!"

_"It ends here, Serenity,"_ Sailor Moon could have sworn she heard, but Star hadn't said anything more.

Sailor Moon summoned her sceptre, deflecting the whip though she hadn't heard Star call out an attack. She held her ground for the moment, her heart beating much too quickly, but knew that sooner or later she would be forced to move.

"Rini, get back," she said, her voice a mix of a quaver and firmness. She heard the child move and felt a little bit of relief, but was shocked to see Mini-Moon suddenly standing beside her. "What are you doing?" Sailor Moon looked down at her with horrified eyes.

"You said we would do this together," Mini-Moon said, watching Star.

"This isn't a ga-" Sailor Moon began, knowing that that was indeed what she'd said, but facing the actual thing now, she didn't want Mini-Moon to be any part of it.

"I know this is serious," Mini-Moon said sternly. "I'm not leaving."

"Mother and daughter, standing side by side to fight," Star sneered. It rang deep within her that this was what the Dark Senshi had originally been trying to prevent. They'd been trying to kill Serenity in order to stop the future. To stop the power of the royal Moon family. "Are the rest of you going to join in, too? Want to hold hands and everything?" Star called to the other Senshi.

"What happened to the Star that came and saved Spike and me?" Mini-Moon asked, staring the Senshi down when she looked her way. "What happened to the one who saved the others from the dragon when you came back?"

"Dear child," Star began, her voice softening slightly, giving the girl a flicker of hope. "How can I save you from the dragon now?"

Mini-Moon stared in confusion and looked to Sailor Moon, only to see her blue eyes widen in horror. The girl's own eyes flew back to the Senshi and also flew open wider in shock.

"Star Darkness Inferno!" Star called, like she'd done before, but this time as she reached into the air with her right arm, the attack took on the shape of the dark mist. The only reason they could see it at all was because of the lamps in the area and what was worse was they saw it spread, like it was opening a set of wings. When they heard it roar, they knew there was no mistaking it. This was the dragon.

The beast swooped low towards the Senshi, and Sailor Moon pushed herself and Mini-Moon to the ground, shielding the younger girl with her own body. She grit her teeth, resisting crying out as it seemed the dragon's claws raked across her form and cut into her, her only concern being that it didn't hurt Mini-Moon.

Her mind raced with this concern, the pain and still with trying to figure out what to do. Last time it wasn't her and her friends that had beaten the Dark Senshi. It had been Star and now that Star seemed to have the power of all three of them, how could they ever hope to beat her?

The dragon roared again, but Sailor Moon felt more like it was watching her, rather than that it was coming back down to attack her again. She sat up slightly, wincing as she felt the pain running through her, but she didn't feel any blood or any physical wound.

"Are you all right?" Tuxedo Mask was at her side before she realized it and she looked into his worried eyes. "Serena!" he demanded when she didn't respond.

"Fine," she lied, looking to Rini who knelt before her and appeared completely unharmed.

"I'm fine," Mini-Moon said before anyone could ask. She looked to the people who were the past forms of her parents. "What can we do?"

"We're still trying to figure that out," Tuxedo Mask said almost apologetically. The worry was evident in his tone and he looked over at Star, who looked mighty amused.

"How can I protect you from the dragon, Princess," Star addressed Mini-Moon again, "When I wield it?"

"The dragon is her powers," Kanaye informed the others as he stood a distance away and they looked to him in disbelief. "She told me herself," he said in confirmation.

He looked over at Star and realized that things were starting to make sense. He hated himself even more now for bringing her back to this and wouldn't allow the fact that had it not been him, the dragon would have found someone else. The point was that it _had_ found him and that he _had_ been the one to do it, despite the resistance she'd put up. That made it even worse since he was well aware that she hadn't wanted to be a Senshi again.

"Damn it," he cursed in mutter through his grit teeth, continuing to watch her. He desperately wanted the information he needed to come to him, like it had when the dragon spoke to him. He doubted, however, that the dragon would tell him out to defeat its Senshi.

"So what are you going to do?" Star demanded, staring critically at each of them. "Are you just going to stand there until I destroy you? And I thought the Senshi were better than that!"

"Do you think the good side of her is calling out to us through taunts?" Venus whispered to the other three standing by her.

"That could be the case," Mercury surmised. "But there is no way of knowing for sure just what she's doing. We've never faced her like this before."

"You're right about that," Jupiter nodded in agreement. "Maybe we should all be attacking at once?"

"But last time it was Star who defeated the Dark Senshi," Venus pointed out, her golden coloured eyes watching the other Senshi carefully.

There was silence among the quartet as they tried to figure out what to do, but Mars soon broke this silence with her sudden revelation.

"Wait." The others looked to her and she spoke quickly. "The last time, she _was_ the one to defeat the Dark Senshi. She wouldn't let us help her, right?"

"Hey, Mars is right. Don't you remember? She told us to stay back," Jupiter hit her fist into her hand. "We never got a chance to give them all we have."

The group snapped out of their mindset of planning when they heard screams yet again, though these screams were that of a feline. Looking, they saw that Star held her guardian by the scruff of the neck, however, he was none too pleased about it.

"Useless animal," Star scoffed. "Sneaking up from behind? It didn't work, did it?" She shook him slightly, which caused him to protest further in way of hiss.

"Essa! You've got to stop this! What good is destroying Kanaye and the others?" Spike demanded, swinging his body around to try and get her to let go of him, but having no such luck.

Star, however, didn't answer Spike's question, becoming distracted by something else.

She cocked a brow, looking to where Mine, Eikou and Sasara stood and said, "What was that?"

"I said you're not Essa!" Eikou snapped. "She would never do this! This is just insane!" The boy was taken aback as she grinned wickedly before tossing the feline aside. He witnessed as the cat landed forcefully on his feet some distance away, but her approaching boot steps drew his attention.

"Tell me, Eikou," Star said as she approached at a casual pace. "Why were the authorities searching for me when you first met me?"

He hesitated, but replied, "Because Essa was a missing child." He refused to address this monster as his friend, but she made no comment to try and deter him this time.

"That's right. Now tell me why I was a missing child."

He shifted uncomfortably, but didn't follow Mine and Sasara's example of shrinking away, even as they tried to pull him to do so. Instead, he wrenched his arm out of their grasp and held his ground.

"Because her parents were murdered," he finally answered.

"Right again." Star came to a halt right in front of him, her dark gaze penetrating his eyes. "Now tell me… who killed my parents?"

A chill ran down his spine and he knew it wasn't the cold night air around them that gave him this chill. Those cold eyes were what did. Even though they didn't seem right, part of him couldn't deny who they belonged to.

"Tell me!" she snapped when he didn't reply.

Startled, he said, "I don't know!"

A grin spread across her face there. "Of course you don't. I could never tell my friends what an abomination I am. They could never know what atrocities I've committed. They would be disgusted. Hate me forever. Lock me in an asylum."

"What are you talking about?" Eikou shook his head, not understanding a thing she was talking about, but that chill returned.

"I'm the reason I don't have parents!" Star snapped impatiently.

"No…" he breathed out incredulously.

"Yes. Why do you think the evidence was inconclusive? Why do you think they never found the culprit, never even had a clue?" Star looked at him as if he was an idiot.

"Stop it, Star," Kanaye demanded, standing near the pair.

"Oh, please. Not this again." Star rolled her eyes and before Kanaye had the chance to speak again she'd punched him square in the jaw.

It was at this point that Eikou did shrink away, his mind reeling with what she'd told him. He was half relieved when the Senshi gave him a menacing look, but seemed to dismiss him as unimportant as she approached Kanaye's fallen form.

"Jupiter Thunderclap Zap!"

"Venus Love Chain Encircle!"

"Mars Celestial Fire Surround!"

"Mercury Ice Bubbles Freeze!"

Star stopped mid-stride, turning to look at the onslaught of coming attacks. Her expression contorted in annoyance and anger, but she had no time to block it, not even the time to command the dragon to be a shield. Hitting the girl dead-on, the attack sent her flying through the air and she only stopped because she made impact with one of the sporadically placed benches. Her form went limp upon it for a moment, but the Senshi watched carefully, unsure as to whether that would have had any effect on her.

"It's not over yet," Mercury looked up from her computer.

As they joined the rest of the group, Mini-Moon saw Star shake her head as she pushed herself upwards. The Senshi seemed disoriented for a good moment, and Mini-Moon nearly jumped out of her skin when the dragon suddenly appeared over its mistress, as if making sure she was all right.

"We should attack again while she's disoriented," Mercury looked to her friends. "All of us should attack."

The group looked to Mini-Moon, waiting for protest.

"If it'll bring her back…" Mini-Moon trailed off.

"There's a good chance it will. Especially if you and Sailor Moon use the healing powers of your crystals right after we've launched our attacks," Venus reasoned and the others nodded in agreement.

"All right," Mini-Moon nodded her head, but was admittedly uneasy about this.

The attacks were issued again, and just as they'd hoped, hit their target in her disorientation. Star's form broke through the bench, the dragon roared in protest and took to the air. Clearly displeased, it took it upon itself to counter attack, moving so quickly that Sailor Moon and Mini-Moon had barely any time to attack. They were forced to protect themselves, rather than launch any form of an attack against the beast. The dragon collided with the shield that had been created around them and its claws raked at it, sounding like a tool cutting glass.

"What now?" Sailor Moon asked, cringing every once in a while as the dragon's claws screamed against the shield. She could only hope that it would hold.

"We have to try again!" Mars declared. "We were so close. I know it would have worked."

"We have to get rid of the dragon," Tuxedo Mask said. "If it was gone, then we could take her out."

"But the dragon is her power, remember?" Venus reminded, indicating that it wasn't going to be as easy as he was making it sound and that that was exactly what they'd been trying to do all along.

"I think I get what Tuxedo Mask is saying," Mercury announced. "He means we have to get rid of that dragon form."

"But how would we do that?" Venus asked, wondering if anyone had an idea.

"Better come up with something quick," Mars pointed. "She's on the move again."

Mini-Moon watched as Star rose again, physically shaking herself before standing all the way up and glowering at them. She looked like she was about to say something, however, she only turned towards Kanaye, seemingly deciding that their disadvantage was the perfect time to strike. She saw as he backed away and though it looked like he was saying something, she couldn't hear what that was.

The child cringed as she saw Star kick Spike out of the way, and she couldn't hear what she said to him either, though her expression indicated it was vicious and that she'd had enough of him. The sound of the dragon's claws rung too loudly in her ears, that along with everyone else trying to figure out what to do, for her to hear anything.

"We have to do something…" she muttered.

This mutter didn't catch anyone's attention, but her running out of the safety of the shield did.

"Rini!" Sailor Moon screamed in alarm, charging after the young girl again, both barely missing the dragon's swipe of its claws at them.

"No!" Tuxedo Mask followed closely after the pair and the other Senshi also jumped into action, shouting their attacks to try and pull the dragon's attention away from their friends.

Mini-Moon ignored them, her heart pounding since she'd only just avoided the claw ripping through her form. Persistent as she was, however, she kept going and finally stopped when she'd placed herself between Star and Kanaye, like earlier. With her arms spread wide, she stared the shocked Senshi in the face, indicating that there was no way in hell she was moving and letting her harm anyone else. She even ignored Kanaye's demand for her to get out of the way and to safety.

"I don't care what you've done!" Mini-Moon shouted. "It was horrible. And wrong. But I've seen who you can be! I've seen the good in you!"

Without even saying a word of response, Star just shook her head, drawing her arm back as her whip appeared in her hand. Mini-Moon tensed, but didn't move an inch.

"Star Pain!"

"Rini!" Sailor Moon's voice screamed again as she ran within range to intercept the attack just as Star swung and the whip flew forward.

Silver light flared.


	23. Chapter 22

**Forced  
**_Chapter 22_

Blindness, temporary or otherwise, wasn't the only thing to come with this silver light. Star knew immediately that this wasn't some flashlight that Sailor Moon had decided to shine in her face to make her back off. This was an attack, and one that sent her flying through the air yet again until gravity pulled her down. Her whip went flying along with her, draping over her form before disappearing as she landed. This was an attack from the Imperial Silver Crystal.

Once the light had died down, Kanaye was shocked to see that it was no longer Sailor Moon standing before him, but the princess, future queen, Serenity. A long white dress adorned her form as she stood protectively in front of Mini-Moon and she looked stern and confident, rather than how he was used to seeing her. Somehow, this physical transformation seemed to change her mentally.

He also came to realize that Star was no longer standing in front of Serenity and brandishing her whip. When the damage the sudden light had done to his eyes passed, he scanned the area to see just where Star had gone. Had she escaped the attack?

Having been knocked to the ground by the force of the attack, he stood quickly when he spotted her crumpled form on the ground. From where he was standing, he couldn't tell if she was still breathing or not. Whether she was still alive or not. All he could see was that she didn't appear to be moving.

The young man made to step forward to investigate, not thinking any of the danger and only concerned for her, but he found that his way was blocked. The Senshi were suddenly standing before him.

"I think you've caused enough trouble," Mars said firmly. She glanced over her shoulder and noticed that he wasn't moving to go around them, so she turned her attention back to Serenity.

Kanaye noticed that while he was blocked, no one blocked the guardians from going to investigate. Luna, Artemis and Spike were permitted to go nearer to Star, which angered and comforted him. Someone would see if she was all right, yet he also wanted to check for himself.

"I don't think that will have taken her out of commission," Spike warned as the trio of felines approached. His step was painful, considering all the beating he'd taken so far this night, however, he wasn't going to abandon her.

"I don't know about that, Spike," Artemis turned his eyes to the other before slowing to a stop beside Star's form. "It's a powerful attack and has taken down many of our enemies." The cat quickly flattened his ears against his head in apology, since he'd just called Star an enemy, which she technically was at the moment, but Spike didn't seem to notice.

"Doubtless it has," Spike continued, circling around to her face. "But look at her uniform. It's still the same. Shouldn't she have changed back?"

"He's right, Artemis," Luna agreed, drawing back slightly. "She's breathing, at the very least. I will inform the others." The black feline trotted off in the direction of the group to give them the news and a warning.

"Be careful," Spike warned. "Controlled or not, she's still dangerous."

Artemis only nodded, following Spike's gaze, noticing the other was staring at her expression. "Anything?"

"Nothing," Spike shook his head, his tail resisting a nervous twitch behind him. "I don't like this."

The black and white cat crouched low to the ground, leaning slightly to one side and taking a chance at pawing his Senshi's face. Of course, he didn't use his claws, only wanting to see if she would stir from his touch, but there was no reaction that he could see. His own ears flattened back now, worry evident within him. Maybe it _had_ done her in.

"We should get Mercury to check her out," Artemis concluded, noticing the same thing Spike did and heading off to the others as Luna had done.

Both cats returned, but they only brought back one of the group. Mercury first stood back slightly, trying to get a reading on her scanner, but found it inconclusive. She didn't like how this power could evade her scanning devices and made a mental note to try and update it later. For now, she had a patient to deal with.

Like Kanaye, Mine, Eikou and Sasara were also barred from charging forward. They'd made attempts to sneak around the tall thunder Senshi, but Jupiter would have none of it, telling them to stay put and they would handle things. She stressed how this was not some game or some act that they were all putting on. This was real. This was dangerous.

Despite the fact that Mercury was taking care to check Star over and make sure she was all right, Serenity felt herself being drawn forward and heard herself telling Tuxedo Mask to keep hold of Mini-Moon as she did so. None really questioned her stepping forward, guessing that she was likely going to try and heal the damaged Senshi with the crystal.

As she drew nearer, she recoiled a moment, hearing the whispering words of her dream again. It seemed a warning, but she began her approach one again.

"Princess Serenity," Spike addressed with much formality, even taking a bow. "Please, I beg you stay back. I don't know how she'll react when she awakens."

"It's fine, Spike," Serenity brushed it off. The young woman crouched down, her dress pooling around her form as she stared down at Star's expression. As peaceful and normal as that expression looked, Serenity knew that there was much disquiet that lay beneath.

Reaching out a slender fingered hand, Serenity touched Star's shoulder, not really knowing why she felt compelled to do so, but knowing it had to be done. Once the contact was made, she saw why she'd been compelled.

Though she wanted to shrink back sharply and run away, Serenity allowed the world around her to disappear for a moment and she allowed herself to enter into the darkness.

xxxxxxx

Star looked around when she sensed another enter into the dark mists around her. Though it was hard to see, she wasn't completely blind, as if the mists only acted as a veil in front of her eyes. The Senshi, however, could see clearly as the bright figure came into view and approached her, and so bright was the light at first that she had to squint her eyes for a moment.

At first Star thought it was the spirit of Queen Serenity of the Silver Millennium come to order her around again, but the words she was about to say to get the spirit to leave never left her mind. She realized quickly that it was not Queen Serenity, but her daughter, Princess Serenity that was approaching her now. She didn't know how the princess had entered into her unconscious mind, for she was very aware that she was unconscious, but she didn't want her there any more than she'd wanted the queen there.

"Serenity," Star acknowledged, surprisingly still pretty formal for all her hatred and anger of the moment. "You've come to tell me to stop."

"Of course, Star," Serenity nodded, her brow furrowing in concern. "I don't want you to get hurt and I don't want you to hurt others. You know how this will end up if you continue. You'll kill him and then who knows who else."

"Maybe I'll kill you," Star challenged, though Serenity only gave the slightest reaction in a minor tensing of her jaw. Star decided to leave it at that. "What does it matter? As a princess and as a Senshi you should know about purpose."

"I do," Serenity didn't see where she was going with this, and that was evident in her voice.

"I was never supposed to be a Senshi. The duty that came with my powers is to kill. Who am I to try and run from that? We both know that that doesn't work," she scoffed. "We both know that even in my 'good' form I still spilled blood."

"But you don't have to keep doing so," Serenity tried, keeping her voice patient and calm despite how she wanted to give into her fear. Yet, there was no way that she was about to leave this girl, this friend, stranded in her darkness.

"You don't get it, do you?" Star snapped suddenly. Opposite of Serenity, she was losing her patience. "My powers can only kill and destroy. I can't be a good Senshi!"

"Then don't be one at all," Serenity countered. "Give up your powers."

Star laughed angrily now, perhaps on the brink of an insanity. "How easily you forget that I already tried that!" Her expression contorted, showing that she was trying to hold back emotion. "I was still dragged back into this! No matter how far I run, no matter where I go, I'll still be brought back. I know that now. I've _accepted_ that now."

"So you've accepted your power?" Serenity cringed inwardly at the thought, but she wanted to hear it from Star herself.

Star was silent. In truth, she hadn't so much accepted it as succumbed to it. In accepting she couldn't run from it, she surrendered to her power. Instead of answering Serenity's question, she changed the line of thought.

"As long as I have this damned power I might as well put it to use, right? It's not letting me go anytime soon, so I might as well get my revenge through it! I did it before, so why not again?" Star bit back.

"Because you don't want to," Serenity said, a little lightened that Star hadn't said she accepted her power. "No matter what you say, I know you don't want to. I saw it in your eyes two years ago and even though I haven't seen it now, I know it's still there. You don't want this blood on your hands."

At this point, Serenity took a cautious step forward, her eyes locked on Star to see her reaction. The Senshi recoiled slightly, but didn't make any move to run, so Serenity continued with another step forward until she was right in front of the Senshi. She gently took the girl's hands in her own and rose them up to hold them between the two girls.

"You don't want this blood on your hands," Serenity repeated, still holding Star's hands in her own.

Star stared incredulously at Serenity, surprised by her courage to come up and then to take her hands. Her eyes, however, shifted from Serenity to where their hands were joined. At first, she could only see the gloves on her hands, but after a moment or two, her eyes widened in horror. There was blood.

She wrenched her hands free, staring at them with her fingers spread before her eyes. She tried to wipe the blood away, but it was like a stain even though it looked fresh.

"No," Star whimpered. "Get it off! Get it off!"

Serenity watched in horror as the Senshi took several steps backwards and brought her arms to her chest, as if trying to hide them. She saw nothing on the girl's hands, but could guess what Star was seeing.

"Don't look!" Star turned her body slightly sideways, making sure Serenity didn't get a look at her hands. "STOP LOOKING!" she roared.

It was Serenity's turn to recoil, but she gathered her courage and stepped forward again. Despite how frightening this sudden change of attitude was, Serenity knew what she had to do.

"I can help you, Star," Serenity said gently, almost motherly.

Star looked at her, child-like at this point. Her eyes shook with sorrow and fear, and while they were glassed over with tears, the tears didn't fall.

"You can make the blood go away?" Star asked sheepishly, as if ashamed to be asking for help or doubtful that any help could be given.

"I can't make the blood go away," Serenity shook her head, "But I can help you."

"How can you help me if you can't make it go away?!" Star snapped now, her expression hardening.

"I can't erase what you've done," Serenity continued using her gentle voice even though her limbs were increasing in their shaking. "I can ease the pain."

"If you can't help me, then get out!" Star snapped again, flashing back to anger. "Get out!"

Serenity drew back as Star began approaching her. She had the crystal cupped in her hands and to her chest, ready to use it, but she needed to wait until the right moment.

"Are you deaf, princess?" Star demanded and these words froze Serenity's blood.

_'It ends here, Serenity,'_ but Star still hadn't said these words.

Before she realized it, Star was right up in front of her, screaming, "I said get out!"

She rose her arms to defend herself, but still found she was being thrown backwards, and not just in the shadowed place she had been. That scenery disappeared before her eyes and she found herself back in the real world, flying through the air.

She felt someone catch her before she hit the ground and she looked up to see Tuxedo Mask's worried eyes staring down at her.

"What happened? Are you all right?" he asked before she could even thank him.

"I'm fine," she looked down at herself and noticed that she'd returned to her Senshi fuku and she did feel slightly drained. It took a lot of energy, after all, to maintain her princess form. She also didn't doubt that Star's attack, even if just physical, had depleted that energy even more. She was glad for the warmth of being held because it helped her resist a chill that wanted to run through her.

"What happened?" Tuxedo Mask repeated, allowing her to stand, but not letting her step out of his hold.

"Her emotions are going haywire," Sailor Moon stared over at the still motionless form of the Senshi, noting that all but Spike had backed away. "Her anger, her guilt, her fear. She's losing control."

"In other words," Mars said, stepping up beside them. "She's going insane."

Sailor Moon didn't like how blunt the fire Senshi was being, but she couldn't help but nod in agreement. "I'm afraid that she will go insane, yes."

"Do you think she'll regain consciousness?" Venus asked as Sailor Mercury joined them. Her question was directed both at Mercury and at Sailor Moon, since Sailor Moon had sort of been within her mind. Her form hadn't disappeared, but when she stopped moving, they knew that some sort of connection had been made.

"I don't know," Sailor Moon said. "She might be trapped there forever."

"Readings show erratic brain activity," Mercury reported. "She could wake up, but how she'll be when she does, I can't even guess." Mercury had been surprised to suddenly get the readings, but she guessed that it was due to the instability that the Senshi was facing. Even the dragon couldn't shield her from Mercury's scanner when she wasn't stable herself.

"So we don't know whether she'll be okay or not," Mini-Moon demanded vehemently.

"I tried to help her, Rini," Sailor Moon looked sadly down at the child. "Really, I did."

"You didn't try hard enough."

Mini-Moon started, surprised since she was about to say that, but someone else had beat her to it. She looked over at Kanaye with shocked eyes.

"Excuse me?" Mars challenged, looking at him. "And what have you done, besides almost getting killed?"

"Unlike you," Kanaye growled in defence, "I don't have any powers. I'm only doing what any regular human would do." He glared at the fire Senshi, matching her irritation and fury well.

"Guys," Venus stepped between them. "As much as I agree with Mars on this one," she said carefully, "Ripping each other's faces off isn't going to help her at all."

"Didn't you use your crystal?" Mini-Moon looked up at Sailor Moon expectantly.

"I tried. She threw me out before I could," Sailor Moon replied, not mentioning how the words from her dream had paralyzed her in fear.

"You have to try again," Mini-Moon insisted. "And me, too. I know it will work. I know it."

No one said that at this point they had to start looking at the fact that maybe nothing would work against Star. What they would do if indeed nothing did work, none of them knew, so they didn't even mention it.

"Come on, Essa," Spike still stood at her side, patting her lightly on the face with his paw even though Luna and Artemis had retreated to stand with the other Senshi.. "Wake up." He was shocked to find at this moment that he didn't care if she woke up evil or good; just as long as she woke up. He couldn't bear to have her die. His only comfort so far was that she was still breathing. "You have to wake up."

His tail flicked nervously, but he also longed to go into her mind the way he'd seen Serenity do. He didn't know why, but he found he couldn't. He wondered if she was blocking him out. Did that mean that she didn't want his help? That she felt threatened by him? What?

"Just wake up," he pleaded, keeping his voice low. "Wake up and we'll fight through this together." Spike crouched low by her face, staring at her with his green eyes. "I won't let the darkness have you, but you have to fight, too."

He didn't even care that she'd hurt him. His sides ached, but they would heal. Physical wounds would heal, but if she didn't return, his emotional wounds would not. He'd lose his purpose. He'd lose his best friend.

The cat's ears perked forward when he thought he heard her mumble. He held his breath, hoping to hear better even though his hearing was already much better than a human's. He wouldn't risk missing something that would help her.

Spike's eyes darted towards the ground when he saw a shadow move. He knew there was no one behind or around them, so he knew this wasn't a shadow cast from someone or something else. No, this shadow was like that of the dragon, he was certain. It made his fur stand on end and he rose, facing the internal battle of backing away or staying by his Senshi's side. He looked back to Star, noticing her features tightening.

"Essa," he whispered happily. "That's it. Wake up." He resulted in not backing away, even as the shadow continued to stir under his feet. It felt like he was being shocked lightly several times, but otherwise didn't bother him. He wondered at that, but didn't focus on it.

What he was focused on were her eyes opening, and while he'd just wanted her to wake up, he didn't like what he saw. If his fur could have stood up any more, it would have, and he finally backed away.

"Essa," he breathed out in a low yowl, which caught the others' attention.

The look he saw in her eyes reminded him of when she'd been controlled by Universe. He feared that she'd given into the power once again.

"Essa," he pleaded, trying to get to her with his voice, since that had worked in the past, but as she rose she paid him no mind. Her eyes were dark not in colour, but they were dark in intent.


	24. Chapter 23

**Forced  
**_Chapter 23_

Spike leapt away from Star, unable to stay in her presence as she was. It was like there was so much negativity seething off of her that it physically hurt him on top of the mental hurt he felt at losing his Senshi to the madness that was now very evident within her. No, this wasn't Essa now. Just her body. Just her form.

Star's eyes followed the cat, but paid him no mind. Those same eyes also paid no mind to the cowering trio of average humans, nor to the group of Senshi and guardians in front of her. Instead, her eyes locked on her target and while the group of Senshi looked to be readying their attacks against her, Star bounded into the air, sailing over them and to the fearful young man that stood not too far behind them.

She landed right in front of him, drawing her arm back to strike, but she failed to hit as Kanaye drew backwards. She'd barely missed him and aimed to strike again, but this time a greater force than him stepping back stopped her. Her form froze and she seemed to snarl as the flames hit her in the back.

While it didn't burn, it did draw her attention for the moment. In her wild mind, she decided that she shouldn't have brushed the others off so easily. She turned to them, leaving her initial target alone for the moment.

"Universal Binding!"

Her hand rose up above her head, where a great black ring formed in the air, and as she lowered her hand this ring encircled the Senshi and Tuxedo Mask. They stared at it dumbfounded for a moment and by the time they realized they had to get away, Star had closed her fist, which tightened the ring around them and held them together.

"How did she get Universe's powers?!" Sailor Moon demanded to know, her voice cracking a bit in her sudden panic. She felt the ring dig into her arms, leaving no room for any form of movement. The most she could do was move her feet, but that wouldn't get them anywhere. There was no way they could do a group attack like this!

"All of their powers must be hers to control now," Mercury deduced as she watched Star use the same binding on Sasara, Eikou and Mine. The three looked far more terrified than any of the Senshi felt, that was certain. The Senshi at least knew what was going on… to an extent, anyway.

"Jupiter Thunderclap Zap!" Jupiter shouted, trying to break the binding, but only managing to zap all of them in the process. "Well, I guess that doesn't work," Jupiter said apologetically once the attack had passed.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Mars growled, though she had been thinking of trying the same thing. At least they were only shocked. With her they would have been fried. 'We're trapped,' she thought bitterly, her dark eyes glaring in Star's direction.

Even the three cats were subject to this binding, though theirs came in form of a cage-like apparatus around them. No matter how hard they tried to hit the thing, it wouldn't give.

"Essa!" Spike tried vainly to reach his Senshi, even though he'd resolved that it wasn't her. Some part of him was now screaming that he should at least try to reach her, but she only turned away from him, as if she didn't hear his voice. This dismayed him and he flattened his ears back on his head before screaming again, "ESSA!"

Still, Kanaye saw that she paid no attention to the cat at all. He felt that Star's focus was only on him now, so all other voices, even those of friends, meant nothing to the girl. Kanaye's mind frantically debated what to do. Run? He'd never get away. Fight? He'd die. Surrender? He couldn't accept this death. And there was no one he could ask for help. While before he'd been so bold as to try and take her on, she was different now and it made even the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

"If you can hear me, Essa," Kanaye said, managing to keep a normal volume in his voice, but struggling with stopping it from quivering, "You've got to stop this. This isn't going to make things any better."

He backed away from her, taking care not to stumble into or over anything, but he couldn't take his eyes from her for too long. The moment he did might become the moment she attacked. The moment he died at her hands, too. She continued her approach, steady at first, but then all of a sudden she was right before him and he leapt back, startled. Only, this leaping back didn't amount to anything other than ramming his back against the fallen emergency vehicle's roof.

"Shit," he muttered, glancing back at it. His attention however turned back to the Senshi before him when she slammed her palm on the vehicle about an inch or two from his turned face. His eyes flew open and returned to her and he wished he could back away more.

Kanaye wondered that those eyes might be the most frightening he'd ever seen. They certainly weren't smiling, like they had been when he saw Essa talking with Mine in the café. They weren't fearful like he'd seen the first time he encountered her back in Russia. No… they were filled with such darkness now.

The rest of the surroundings were blocked out to him, especially when there was suddenly a blade at his throat. He felt the cold metal pressed lightly against his skin and saw a glint of gold that he'd never seen before. Where did she get the dagger?

He flinched and recoiled, looking to the blade and then back to her face. She didn't look like she was about to talk before she got rid of him.

"Star," he decided to address the Senshi instead of the girl. Surprisingly, it seemed to work, because Star's gaze went from the knife and his throat to his face. "Star," he tested, to make sure she was truly paying attention. His reward was seeing her eyes flicker with acknowledgement. "Killing me isn't the answer." He felt her press the blade a bit and he cringed. "Well, maybe you think it is, but it won't make everything go away. It'll just be spilling more blood. What sense is there in that?"

Kanaye resisted a shiver as he saw what appeared to be shadow pass over her eyes, and only her eyes. Something told him it was the dragon – the dark energy – milling about.

"Look," he continued, fighting back his fear as he kept his eyes unmoving. Now he was addressing Essa, but first he'd needed the Senshi's attention to get to the girl. "I know I'm the one that brought you back to this, and I'm sorry. If I had known…" he paused, swallowing his fear silently. "If I had known, I would have dealt with the dragon and the consequences myself. I never meant to hurt you."

A pang of guilt run through him then in knowing that he hadn't even bothered to find out the nature of the creature he could hear. He didn't bother to find out if it was good or evil, only wanting it to shut up and leave him alone. But what he said was the truth… if he had known, he wouldn't have done it.

In a daring move, since he figured Star wouldn't think twice about cutting off his hand at this point, he reached out, resting his hand on the side of her face as he repeated, "I never meant to hurt you."

This time she drew back entirely to flee his touch, but she continued to hold the curved, golden blade that had once belonged to Sailor Space in front of her. She stared at Kanaye with cold eyes, yet he didn't make any move to leave and only lowered his hand. Even with the distance between them now, he saw a strange flicker of immense distress pass over her eyes before it vanished again. Her stance became stronger and she pointed the blade at him with more intent.

"Space Black Hole Engulf!" Star shouted the attack of her former comrade, though the power never left the blade. Instead, she was completely swallowed up in pink-tinted, silver light that swept around her like a gale-force wind. When the light was gone, the blade clattered to the ground and vanished as its wielder also collapsed yet again, though Kanaye caught her before she hit the ground.

He looked down at her frantically, hearing the others approach as he did. Her expression was completely blank now, but he could still feel her breathing in his grasp. His attention turned to the other Senshi and the guardians as they ran forward.

"What did you do?!" he demanded, also wondering how, but deciding the what was more important at the moment.

"When she drew back," Mercury began to explain, "the binding vanished long enough for us to break free. Then we had a chance to attack."

"To heal," young Princess Serenity, the child from the future, corrected, standing beside Star's form before crouching down with her dress pooling around her. She wanted to see if she would have any better luck than her mother had, but as she extended her hand to enter into the Senshi's mind she felt a shock and knew she was being resisted.

"If this doesn't work…" Spike's voice came beside the pink-haired child, "then I don't know if anything will…"

"It'll work, Spike," young Serenity said reassuringly, placing one of her small hands on his head, though her next words didn't sound as certain. Her pink coloured eyes stared worriedly at Star. "It has to."

xxxxxxx

Essa was relieved that she'd been able to regain some essence of control before it was too late. She knew just how close she'd been to pressing that blade and drawing blood; knew how close she was to just putting more murders on her conscience. She was mildly embarrassed to finally realize that someone cared so much about her, but in the end, Kanaye was a key factor to her fighting the darkness.

He was right. This path wouldn't solve anything.

Now she stood within the dark mist again, like when Serenity had come through to her. This time, there was no one coming through because she wasn't letting them. This was between her and her demon… her powers.

She wasn't sure in the least how she was going to fight her powers, since they didn't really have a completely solidified form, though she expected it to come in form of the dragon or any of the three Dark Senshi, including the one she'd been. Star.

For several long moments, however, she was only surrounded by the darkness and the echoing sound of her own footsteps as she moved around to try and find someone or something. There was no light, so she couldn't see, yet she wasn't stumbling as one might in a dark room. Somehow, she knew that she wasn't in danger of falling.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood up suddenly and she only just ducked in time. Really, she threw herself forward to the ground, but either way she avoided being hit by whatever or whoever was there. Even as she flipped onto her back, she saw nothing there. Not even movement, even though she felt her instinct tell her to dodge again. Far be it from her to distrust her instinct.

Essa rolled sideways before pushing herself in a crouched position. She tried to stop her eyes from searching the darkness so that she could rely on her hearing, but it was very hard to make her eyes still. It was human condition to try and see the source of the attack, but finally she made herself stop by staring down, realizing that she couldn't even see herself. Even as her eyes had time to adjust to the darkness, it seemed that there was no adjusting to this darkness.

This time, the blow hit her as her reaction to the sound she heard was too late. When she stopped sliding across the ground, she determined that she couldn't even guess what kind of sound that was. She didn't think it sounded like footsteps, nor the beating of wings. She didn't know. All she knew was that the attacks were either powerful enough to move her or that the being attacking her had a corporeal form, meaning it was solid enough to hit her.

She rubbed her shoulder, feeling the pain strike through her and remembering her gunshot wound from years before. It was that shoulder that got hit by the blow that sent her flying. Now, the old wound throbbed with a sharp ache. This was not good.

It also didn't help that she didn't have access to her Senshi powers, but she felt that that was of her own will. While they would definitely be helpful right now, if she used them what would be the point of all this fighting? Was not her goal to be rid of them forever? Yes.

Essa made to stand, still with her hand on her throbbing shoulder, but felt her feet now swept out from under her. She hit the ground with another sharp thud, landing on the already aching shoulder and for a moment she only lay there with her eyes shut tightly and her teeth clenched together. It was taking all within her not to cry out, but she knew that wasn't about to help any more than her lack of powers was.

She breathed labouriously, trying to will the pain away and yet not succeeding. When she finally opened her eyes again, she felt the tears that had welled up from the pain, but the tears weren't enough to start streaming down her face. Just enough so there was a dampness now on her pale lashes.

The teen pushed herself up, still staying low, but now leaning on her good arm and listening. She didn't hear anything and wondered if her attacker was now still. Whether this attacker was watching her or not (for all she knew it was blind or didn't even have eyes), she didn't know. She didn't feel any eyes on her, but she couldn't imagine that an enemy would just stop paying attention to her.

Regardless, she took this time of stillness to think.

'What am I going to do?' she demanded of herself, finding that she wished Spike were there. She was certain that he could help; at least he would be a comforting presence. 'I don't know how I can fight this thing when I can't see it. Hearing alone won't be good enough. I'm not trained in this sort of thing!'

Her mind was reeling, going over her past even. She'd been in the darkness before, right? Wasn't it somewhere like this that her mind fled when Universe had controlled her? It was, but then she hadn't really been trying to fight it. At least not until they met Sailor Moon and the others. But it was different that time. They already showed that they couldn't really help her now and unlike she would have before, she didn't blame them. She knew they had tried.

She sighed heavily with dismay; it almost sounded like a whimper. She wanted to place her head in her arms, but heard the movement again and knew instead that she had to move herself. Using both arms, she pushed herself up, ignoring any pain for the moment as she scrambled away. The moving sound stopped again, and she did as well, listening very carefully.

At that moment, Essa realized she was shaking and she knew she was afraid, since this was what had happened before. She blocked out the memories of becoming a Senshi, focusing on the now and thinking about how this time she wouldn't let it win. She knew this time that simply running to the light wouldn't help, as she'd thought it would before for even in her light there was only darkness.

'My powers come from the darkness,' Essa told herself. 'Trying to pass myself off as a good-guy isn't going to make any difference. The outfit changed' – she was referring to how her Senshi fuku had gone from the black of the Dark Senshi to the grey of her self-achieved form – 'but the powers were still the same. It doesn't make a difference how I look and what I want to do because the powers will always be the same.'

Essa barely dodged again, feeling something connect with her back, but it was only strong enough to send her stumbling forward.

'It has to be destroyed,' Essa thought as she regained her balance. 'I need Serenity to use the crystal again.' She didn't care which Serenity – the young woman or the child – since they both possessed the same crystal. One was simply from the present and the other from the future. There was only one problem. Reaching them.

'I can't call out to them,' she continued, her heart hammering in her chest and her breath becoming ragged as she fell backwards yet again, this time landing on her butt. 'They wouldn't be able to hear me.'

After her tailbone joined the pain list, a thought occurred to her.

'They can't hear me…'

Essa remained perfectly still, knowing what she was about to attempt was probably dangerous on her part. She closed her eyes again, truly listening for the sound of the attacker now and when she heard it draw close, she reached out and grabbed it. Her teeth clamped together and her brow furrowed when the consequences of that grabbing – shocks running through her body – took her, but she wasn't giving up now. She had to keep hold, even as she heard the roaring-screams invade her mind, but she pushed through them to get her own voice to be heard.

'Kanaye!'

xxxxxxx

The young male flinched visibly when he suddenly heard the roar erupt from nowhere. Ignoring the others' demands of what had happened, knowing they couldn't hear it, he looked around for the source of that roar, but his gut feeling already told him that he knew.

_"Kanaye!"_

He was surprised to hear the voice of the motionless girl in his arms come crashing through the sound of the roar. His eyes widened in surprise and his heart quickened, somehow feeling that she was okay if could talk to him. But now the question was, how did he talk to her?

_"Essa?"_ he tried to think his thoughts. If that didn't work…

_"Kanaye!" _

She sounded relieved, so he took it as a sign that she could hear him. However, she also sounded strained, as if fighting. His expression became worried, but she butted in again before he could even speak. Again, he was still ignoring the others.

_"Don't ask how I am. I don't have time for that. I need the power of the crystal to hit me again."_

_"What?!"_ He knew his own thoughts sounded frantic, but it was because he feared that another hit from the power of the crystal would destroy her. If not her body then certainly her mind.

_"Trust me. I need the power of the crystal for this."_

_"But what if it destroys you?"_

_"It's a risk I have to take. It's either it works the way I want it to or it doesn't. If it doesn't, well, either way I'll be destroyed."_

_"But-"_

_"Please!"_

Kanaye's eyes watched her form, studying it as he made his worried decision. He glanced up at the others, seeing Essa's other friends standing off in the distance, trying to see what was going on but also trying to keep their distance. The rest were gathered around and the young child and Spike were still as they had been, side by side, though watching him now. Finally, he spoke.

"She wants to be hit with the crystal's powers again," Kanaye said, addressing the young princess directly.

"How do you know?" Tuxedo Mask asked what others were thinking, but Kanaye ignored him.

The child stared at Kanaye, feeling that he was telling the truth and nodded slowly. With the small, crystalline object in her hands, she extended her arms so that it was over the white-haired girl's body. Without a word being said, the pink-tinted silver spread over her body again.

Essa let go of the attacker, though it didn't retreat before seemingly kicking her in the face, which sent her reeling backwards again.

She could only hope now as she rubbed her sore face that Kanaye did what she asked and was rewarded with a warmth that covered her before she found that the area was becoming lighter around her. She still couldn't make out any distinct shape of an attacker around her; in fact, it was like the blindness that one got from looking too long into a light and then looking away. In a sense, she was still blind. Though, she thought she saw what appeared to be a falling star cross her vision.

But her ears told her that her attacker was panicking and trying to scramble away from the light that was now invading the area. Essa experienced relief as this happened and allowed herself to fall to her knees and sit. The throbbing of her pains and especially her shoulder didn't feel so bad now.

xxxxxxx

A collective gasp ran through the crowd as this silvery light seemed to sink not into the Senshi, but through her, disintegrating the fuku and leaving the clothes she'd been wearing before behind. Kanaye felt her tense form relax in his arms, but everyone's attention was on the darkness that also seemed to have seeped out of her.

Spike was the first of the group to hiss and recoil as the darkness made a puddle on the ground, but before anything could form from that darkness, the silver light encased it, and both it and the darkness vanished.

Feeling drained, the princess' appearance returned to that of the child and she felt Spike rub his head against her arm gratefully. She grinned, taking the cat into her arms and stroking him, knowing that he too could sense that the darkness was gone.

Kanaye felt as Essa stirred in his arms, though he was greatly surprised and became a little flustered when the first thing she did was hug him. For a moment, he didn't know what to do, but returned the hug, hearing her say in a quiet voice "Thank you" though it didn't sound like she was trying to hide the thanks. It sounded more like she was worn out and out of breath.

She broke free from him, and turned to Rini, issuing the young girl a hug as well, knowing that it had been her powers that had ultimately freed her. Inevitably, since Rini was also holding Spike, she ended up crushing the cat in the hug as well.

"Hey! Hey! I don't want to be a pancake!" Spike protested, worming his way up between the girls and making his way to sit on Essa's shoulder. Even with this protest, Essa could hear his purrs beside her ear. She grinned.

"But why not? Pancakes are good," Essa laughed lightly.

"She's right, you know," Rini agreed with a grin of her own. Though she felt drained, seeing that her friend was all right made up for it. She looked to Serena and Darien, who only smiled and nodded approvingly.

"So," Rei said, extending a hand to help Essa up. "It looks like we were right then, huh?"

Essa nodded gravely. "Unfortunately." She steeled herself for Rei firing questions at her to see if she was still evil, but was surprised when Rei didn't say that at all.

"But," the raven-head said, "looks like it's all better now." Rei grinned slightly, pleased since she didn't sense any negative energy at all emanating from the other girl as she had before. "The negative aura around you is gone."

Relief flooded Essa's face, until she glanced over at Mine, Eikou and Sasara. While there were smiles around her from the Senshi, those three looked shocked and horrified by all they'd witnessed. While it looked like they wanted to come over and see if it was really all over, they also looked too frightened to do so. Essa simply stared at them, them staring back, and she saw Spike's gaze follow her own and then as Kanaye stood what seemed protectively by her side.

"What are you going to do about them?" he asked in a low voice, glancing at her out of the corner of his brown eyes.

"I don't know…" Essa thought aloud, her brow furrowing in thought. She turned to the others cautiously. "Isn't there something you can do? They don't need to remember all this, do they?"

The Senshi, all now in their civilian forms, exchanged glances, making a decision among them silently. Serena was the first to step forward in response.

"No," the blonde said. "They don't need to remember their friend like that." Even though her words could have been taken in a harsh way, her gentle voice showed her sincerity in the matter. "Everything will be all right now."

Serena believed it to be true, hearing the voice of her dream – _"It ends here, Serenity"_ – fading in her mind.

xxxxxxx

"After the strange occurrences at the Star Festival last night, the police still have no definitive explanation for what happened. It seems that a firework may have gone astray as it was lit and there was need for immediate evacuation of the area. There is no evidence to prove it, but there is speculation that this stray firework was what caused the ambulance to turn over as the medical crews came to make sure no one was injured. If this is not what happened, then what truly did happen is a mystery. In the end, however, there are no injuries to report from the incident."

Essa sighed mentally at the thought that yet another of her doings had been kept a secret. She sat now in her hotel room eating her breakfast with Spike as they watched the morning news. While she would have normally avoided it, she just had to be sure that everything had stayed hidden. Not that she doubted the Senshi's powers, but she also knew that there was always a chance that something didn't go quite right. She hadn't even been able to sleep that night without watching the news. Even afterwards, her sleep hadn't been sound.

"See," Spike said, looking up from his plate of food. "I told you everything would be just fine."

Essa looked at him with mock-reprimand at first, but then her expression grew thoughtful. "What I don't get is why you can still gab away like you do. Your guardian duties are over." And this she truly believed. It didn't feel like wishful thinking at all.

"I'm just that talented," Spike grinned with a cat-like shrug. He too had no idea how he'd kept his ability to speak, but he wasn't about to complain. "I know you love listening to me," he continued.

Essa only shook her head and smiled, scooping more cereal into her mouth. Despite her mental and even physical exhaustion, Essa felt light, like there wasn't as much burden on her now. True, she hadn't lost any of her memories, like her three café friends had, but just not having her power left her feeling lighter.

For the first time in a very, very long time, it felt like maybe everything would finally be okay.


	25. Finale

**Forced  
**_Chapter 24 – Finale_

"What do you mean you're leaving again?" Mine asked, slamming her fist on the table where she, Essa and Kanaye sat once again. This slamming of the fist wasn't so much in anger as it was shock. Mine was weird like that.

"I was only here for a visit, Mine, remember?" Essa said gently. Her eyes watched carefully for any sign that Mine might not have forgotten what had happened at the Star Festival, but so far she hadn't even mentioned that night at all.

"But, come on! You only just got here!" Mine said, her voice lower this time and without using physical force. Her manager had come out of the back and glared at her, so she took it as an order to calm herself or get out and she wasn't sure that she would be allowed back in if she left. She was only on break after all. "You," Mine looked pointedly at Kanaye, who jumped slightly at this sudden address, "convince her to stay."

"It's not that I need to be _convinced_," Essa sighed mentally. "It's a matter of I have to return to my family."

"But that's so far away," Mine pouted and managed to look childish. "Move back here."

Essa kept her expression as it had been, but inwardly she cringed slightly. She didn't know whether she'd ever be able to move back to Japan since that was where her memories were the freshest and most deadly.

Instead, she replied, "I'll visit again. Really I will."

"That's not the same!" Mine complained with exasperation, throwing her hands around dramatically. "Visiting is too short and too long in between."

"You had no problem with this arrangement last time," Essa pointed out, remember the day she had left several years ago.

"Yeah, but come on," Mine said leaning forward slightly. "You're old enough to live on your own now. You're not fourteen anymore. You can stay with me even, if you don't want to live by yourself. It'd be cool having a roomie." Mine was in fact a few years older than Essa and lucky enough to have her own place. It wasn't always easy and at times she just scraped by, but for her it was better than living at home. She didn't go to school since she didn't have the funds for that (neither had her parents or family and she wasn't so intelligent to get scholarships), but she was content where she was.

"Mine, I _can't_," Essa stressed. "I need the structure I have back home," she realized for the first time that this was true, at least for now. "And I doubt that they'd even let me do a thing like that, considering my past." She caught Kanaye throwing her a concerned glance, but she shook her head slightly to tell him to brush it off. Mine didn't notice any of this as she was looking over her shoulder at her manager.

She turned back to the pair. "Fine," she seemed to snap, though still not with anger. "Be that way. But," she said as she stood and pointed at Essa dangerously, "if you don't come back, I'm getting the gang together and I'm hunting you down myself." With that, she turned away, but before she entered into the back, she turned around, smiling and waving at her friend.

"I thought she might kill you," Kanaye said after Mine disappeared into the back.

The teen sighed and looked over at him. "I thought she might, too." She stood now, grabbing her things and throwing her garbage in the bin. "At least that's over with now."

"You've told the others already?" he asked, following after her as he'd done before. He was happy to see that she didn't seem to have any aversion to it this time and they walked down the sidewalk side by side.

"That's the next stop," Essa told him, starting them off in the direction of the shrine, where she knew the others would be. It was later in the afternoon, so she figured that they'd be off school by now. The only one she wouldn't be surprised to not see would be Ami; Essa was well aware that the Water Senshi went to cram school.

"And when were you going to tell me?" Kanaye demanded.

"Hadn't figured that out yet," Essa laughed a little nervously. She knew that some part of her had been considering just leaving without telling him at all, but considering all that had happened, that would be more than a little rude. While part of her still resented that he'd been the one to return her pendant to her, she also felt that it would have happened anyway. Her shrink had sent her on this trip after all, right?

Kanaye didn't bother to ask if she had thought about just vanishing, figuring that she might very well have taken that option. He wouldn't have blamed her; might have been a little hurt and confused by it, but he definitely wouldn't hate her for it.

They continued, eventually reaching and climbing the steps of the Hikawa Shrine. Kanaye was a little surprised to see Spike sitting at the top of the steps, seemingly waiting for them, but guessed that Essa probably told him that she would be there.

"They're here," Spike commented as Essa picked him up. He nodded a greeting to Kanaye, but otherwise only addressed Essa. "I don't think they knew I was here, though. If they did, they ignored me."

"Then they probably didn't know you were here," Essa grinned slightly. "If they had, I'm sure they would have come charging out to ask what was wrong this time."

She felt a pang in her heart as she said this, but tried to ignore it. At first, she'd felt relieved and happy to be rid of her powers, but after a while, that wore away to put in her face yet again that there was still guilt on her conscience and blood on her hands. She half-wondered if the healing power of the crystal had had something to do with the relief she'd felt, but couldn't be certain. She was startled out of her reverie as a familiar voice suddenly appeared behind her.

"It's you again!" Rei's grandfather chimed happily and pushed between the two teens to stand before them. "The pretty girl and the strapping lad! Come to work this time?" He had a ridiculous grin on his face and looked like he was damn pleased to see them again. "I see my granddaughter didn't sway you from these wonderful job opportunities!" The elderly man seemed to see the cat for the first time. "Oh what a cute animal! It'll really pull in the customers!"

Essa looked past the man as she heard the door to the shrine slide open forcefully. Rei opened her mouth to speak, stopped for a second as she was surprised to see the trio, but then returned to her intended scolding.

"Grandpa!" Rei snapped, stomping out into the courtyard. "How many times do I have to tell you to leave people alone?!"

The other girls poked their heads out of the shrine now, wondering who Rei's grandfather was pestering now and Serena was even laughing at Rei's anger, but Rini quickly charged out of the building when she saw who was there.

"Essa!" she shouted happily, giving the girl and her cat a hug.

"Grandpa, just go sweep or something!" Rei snapped. "If someone wants to work here, they'll tell you, got it?"

"You didn't give them a chance to tell me!" Rei's grandfather protested, waving his arms as Rei pushed him along.

"Trust me, they don't want to work here," the fiery Senshi sighed heavily, not letting her grandfather go until he was on the other side of the property.

Rini looked from the scene to Essa, Spike and Kanaye again. "What are you guys doing here?"

"I'm here to say goodbye," Essa told the child gently, yet she still saw Rini's expression fall.

"Where are you going?" Rini asked, sad that her friend was leaving but also thinking how she would have to leave again soon, too. As much as she liked staying and visiting in the past, if there wasn't really any reason for her to be there, then she didn't want to influence the past too much. She was sure that in a few days or so Pluto would come to retrieve her again.

"I have to go home." Essa was glad to see understanding in the child's eyes and wondered if the child understood so well because she often faced the same situation herself. The older girl was struck with awe when she thought about how Rini had travelled time. She'd known all along, but it was like the gravity of it was suddenly hitting her.

"And you, too, Spike?" Rini asked with a little grin.

"Of course," the feline purred. "Where she goes, I go."

"I'm glad," Rini said quietly enough so that only those two could hear. She was pleased to see Essa smile slightly.

Essa stood and looked to the girls watching her. She still saw judgement in their eyes, even fear in some, but for the most part, they seemed at ease. She allowed herself another smile.

"Last time I said I probably wouldn't be coming back, but I obviously did. I don't know for sure this time," she told them and she saw them nod in understanding. "Hopefully if I do come back, it won't be like this."

"Me, too," Rei gave her input. "'Cause it wasn't fun."

"Rei!" Serena protested, but Essa waved it off.

"She's right, though. As brutal as she can be, she seems to be right," Essa said, watching as Rei's expression turned to a grin.

"About time someone noticed."

"Don't go getting a big head, Rei," Mina scolded.

"Yeah, look what you did, Essa," Lita put in. "Now she's going to walk around like she owns the place."

"Well," Rei said slyly, "I do kind of own _this_ place."

"Not what I meant and you know it," Lita stuck out her tongue. "So what about you, Mr. Know-It-All?" Lita turned to Kanaye now. "What are you going to do?"

All had been wondering that, including Essa and Spike, but none had been able to come up with a definite answer. They all had their speculations, but what he would do for certain was unknown. Some among the group of Senshi had even been surprised that he didn't ask for his memories to be altered as well.

"Guess everything will go back to normal, won't it?" Kanaye shrugged absently. "Even if some other evil did come along, there's not much I could do to help, is there?"

"Well," Ami's voice suddenly came from behind them as she ascended the steps, her books still in her arms. "Considering your ability to hear the powers Essa had" – she didn't really see them as 'Essa's Powers' anymore – "who knows what else you might hear?"

Kanaye's expression contorted, showing he'd had enough of hearing voices. "But I never heard anything before that."

Ami shrugged, setting her things on the porch of the shrine. "I'm just saying, you never know what could happen."

"So," Lita started again. "If you do hear something, you'd better tell us. I don't want any more surprises if there's someone who can tell us about these things beforehand."

"Right," the young man said, cocking a brow at the forcefulness of her words. "I'll let you know." He felt a little worry at the thought, but decided that for now he didn't want to worry about it and so put it out of him.

"When do you leave?" Serena asked suddenly, realizing that this hadn't been established yet.

"Tomorrow afternoon," she said. "Elizaveta called me a couple days ago telling me that she was going to be at the airport to pick me up."

xxxxxxx

"So this is where you live, huh?" Essa asked as they arrived at Kanaye's apartment complex.

"This is it," he nodded. "And I'm guessing this is where we say goodbye."

"Something like that," Essa agreed, looking from the building to Kanaye. Seeing the expression on his face, she said, "Don't look so depressed. There's no more evil to do battle with… for now anyway. A Senshi's work never seems done."

"That's not-" Kanaye began.

"I know," Essa cut him off. "But still. Don't look so depressed."

Silence fell between them, or at least as far as Spike could tell from where he sat on the wall that surrounded the complex. He didn't see their mouths moving in any further conversation, instead only just standing there and staring.

The slight breeze ruffled his fur and he spied a group of children playing on the playground nearby in the evening sun. He smiled inwardly as he thought.

It had felt strange to come back, but now it felt strange to leave again. It hadn't exactly been the vacation that he'd hoped it would be from the start, but in the end everything had turned out well. And this time there was no more death, which made his heart warm with happiness. He was fully aware that his Senshi – no, she wasn't a Senshi any longer – that his friend still felt the weight of her previous actions and he worried that it would drive her mad one day, but for now things were well again.

He didn't like to think such dark thoughts as she might go insane from it, but having that on her conscious wasn't going to be easy to live with. Regardless of what happened, though, he vowed silently that he would be by her side.

His attention diverted to Essa again as he heard her footsteps approaching. He looked and saw Kanaye climbing the stairs to his apartment and jumped down to walk by Essa's side as she left. Part of him wondered if that would be the last time they ever saw the boy.

"So," Spike began, keeping up with her.

xxxxxxx

"Ready to go?" Elizaveta asked the same words that Spike had the night before. Essa felt a slight sense of déjà vu and shook herself mentally.

"Guess so," she said, hefting her shoulder bag, where Spike was hidden for the time being.

"Good," Elizaveta smiled, leading the girl to her car and helping put the suitcases in the trunk. She found it odd that Essa insisted that she keep her shoulder bag with her when it could just as easily be stored in the trunk, but she didn't press the matter. She shrugged inwardly as the girl placed the bag on the floor between her feet. She passed the slightly open zipper off as nothing out of the ordinary and put the car into drive. "How was your trip?"

Essa debated how to word it, and ended up saying, "It was interesting. I saw some old friends."

"Really? That's wonderful!" Elizaveta was clearly pleased. "You had a good time with them?"

Essa grinned as she watched the sights pass outside the window. "Yeah," she said aloud, but thought silently, 'they saved me.'

As they continued on their way back to Essa's house, Elizaveta asked various questions and while they seemed innocent enough, Essa was quite certain that she was analyzing her as well. She didn't mind so much, finding as usual that she was hiding things from her shrink, but overall she didn't feel the pressure that she normally did while speaking to the woman. Maybe it was because she had one less thing to hide now. It just seemed a normal conversation that friends might have, though Essa wasn't sure whether she would call this woman a friend.

When they pulled into the driveway, Essa's three cousins came outside, the youngest charging at her and demanding to know where her souvenir was. Essa pulled out what he'd gotten her from her shoulder bag and then went to help Elizaveta and her uncle with her suitcases. She casually set her bag down, at which point Spike made his escape. Essa was certain of this when the bag was lighter as she picked it up again.

After saying goodbye to Elizaveta, she and her uncle lugged her suitcases up the stairs while her aunt ushered the others off to help her with dinner. It was around seven in the evening now, in Russia anyway. Had she still been in Japan, it would have been about two in the morning. Needless to say, she certainly felt the jetlag, though oddly didn't feel entirely tired. It was like that point when one is so tired that she feels awake again. In the car with Elizaveta, she now realized, she'd been on the verge of falling asleep at points. She thought that the conversation had been what was keeping her awake.

"Now, Essa, I've got some news for you that isn't all too good," her uncle said as they ascended the stairs.

"What?" Essa questioned, her brow furrowing with worry since his voice showed he was nervous about telling her this. Her heart sped up a little, wondering just what they might have found out. 'Don't be ridiculous, Essa,' she told herself. 'How could they have found out anything?'

"It's Spike," her uncle continued, heading down the hall now to her room. "After you left, he disappeared. And we've looked, really we have, but we just can't find him."

"Oh." Despite the relief Essa felt, she knew that she needed to sound distressed by this news. Inwardly, she chuckled though, figuring that Spike would be sitting on her bed or outside her window when they got to her room.

"Yeah, I'm sorry," her uncle continued, opening the door now to her room. He was about to continue when shock hit him. "Spike?"

Sure enough, the cat was sitting on the sill outside the window, waiting to be let in. His tail swished back and forth, showing mild irritation at being kept waiting, but Essa thought she also saw an amused glint in his eyes. She wondered if he'd figured out that her family thought he ran away.

Setting her bags down on her bed, Essa hurried over to the window, opening it and pulling the cat into her arms. She smiled and cooed over him, as if it'd been a long time since she last saw him while her uncle simply stood in the doorway dumbfounded.

"Well, I'll be. It's like he knew you were coming back," her uncle said, sounding thoroughly awed.

"Maybe he did," Essa grinned, stroking the cat as he purred.

xxxxxxx

It was about a week later that Essa found herself sitting in Elizaveta's office. She remembered back at the beginning of the summer when Elizaveta had said she'd be spending a couple months in Japan, though it had ended up only being a few weeks. Didn't matter, she was happy to be home now, even if she was sitting inside the psychiatrist's office rather than doing something else.

Essa had thought that this was going to be just a routine thing again, but her jaw fell when Elizaveta said what the true purpose of being there was.

"I'm going _where_ now?" Essa demanded, leaning forward in her chair and bracing herself on its arms.

"It won't be for nearly as long as your trip to Japan," Elizaveta seemed to think that that might be the issue. "Just a couple days, but this is probably the biggest step you'll have to take."

"Why am I going there?" Essa leaned back again, trying to think of reasons why she could be going there and what 'big step' Elizaveta was referring to. The location rung a bell as a place of importance, but she couldn't for the life of her figure out why that place was supposed to be important.

Elizaveta gave Essa a peculiar look, wondering if she really didn't remember or whether she was just acting. By the confusion on the girl's face, it seemed that she really couldn't place the location's importance. "Don't you remember? It's where-"

xxxxxxx

"Where my parents are buried," Essa whispered sorrowfully, staring down at the gravestone with her parents' names etched on it.

"That's right," Spike said, remembering now, too.

There had been a report on the news about it when they discovered Essa again since they were looking for her parents. The search had led to Marathon, Florida, where her parents had moved a year or so after she had vanished. They'd been distraught by the loss of their daughter, since the girl couldn't be found anywhere. Not even a trace. They couldn't bear staying in the same place.

This wasn't a solo trip this time as Elizaveta stood off in the distance, giving her her space. Spike was concealed in her shoulder bag, as he had been before; she'd refused to go without him, even though the cat had advised against it since they wouldn't be alone this time. In the end, of course, the cat had ended up going.

Essa stood before the grave, feeling the warm Florida air pass around her and the warm sun beating down on her back, yet even with this warm air, a chill ran down her spine. She felt the guilt rise up in her, making her stomach hurt and her brain throb with what felt like a headache. Her eyes were wet with tears, but she resisted them, feeling she had no right to cry since she was the one who did it.

"Essa, you can't change-" Spike began softly.

"I know," the girl snapped, staring at the ground with her fists clenched at her sides.

Though, she knew that she _could_ change the past if she really wanted to. All she'd have to do was go to Pluto and demand to be allowed into the time stream and stop Universe from ever getting the powers that turned them into evil Senshi.

She'd thought about this many times, actually, but had so far decided against it. She knew that it would alter everything and have dire consequences. Even if she did manage to change the past, would the memories still be with her? She didn't know and was afraid to take that risk. She wanted it _all_ to be undone and for her memories of it to vanish, so even if she had her parents and her brother again, if she knew that she had done it, it still wouldn't leave her happy.

No, she would leave it be.

For now, she would deal with all she'd done. She may have gotten rid of Star's powers, but what she'd done… that she feared she'd have to live with forever…

x

_Une étoile dans le ciel (A star in the sky)  
En l'obscurité de la nuit (In the darkness of the night)  
C'est une lumière très belle. (It's a pretty light.)  
Silence. Ne faîtes pas de bruit. (Silence. Don't make a sound.)_

_Parce que j'ai d'espoir (Because I have hope)  
Que cet étoile est l'une (That that star is the one)  
Qui peut enlever mon désespoir (That can take away my despair)  
Sous la lumière de la lune. (Under the light of the moon.)_

_Mais j'ai du peur (But I'm afraid)  
Que je peux faire rien (That I can do nothing)  
Parce que je ne peux pas voir (Because I can't see)  
Que la nuit dans le soleil. (Anything but the night in the sun.)_

_J'avais l'espoir (I had hope)  
Que cet étoile était l'une (That that star was the one)  
Qui pouvait enlever mon désespoir (That could take away my despair)  
Sous la lumière de la lune. (Under the light of the moon.)_

_Mais j'ai réalisé (But I realized)  
Que c'est impossible (That it's impossible)  
De détruiser (To destroy)  
Et pour souhaiter n'est pas sensible (And that to wish isn't sensible)  
Quand c'est noir dans le soleil. (When it is black in the sun.)_

_Maintenant je n'ai pas d'espoir (Now I don't have any hope)  
Les étoiles ne peuvent pas corriger (Stars cannot correct)  
Les ombres que je vois (The shadows that I see)  
Les ombres que j'avais créé. (The shadows that I have created.)_

_**END**_

xxxxxxx  
_La Lumière de la Lune (The Light of the Moon) is ©copyrighted to Laura Barton._  
Thanks for reading.  
-L. Barton  
xxxxxxx


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